Silver Hair and Golden Eyes
by Zarosguth
Summary: Rena is an elf living in the human world. Due to the low concentration of magical energy in the human world, her health is delicate. One day she is invited to live in a luxurious villa just outside of Ruben. There, she meets the villa's manager. A kind young man named Raven. Everything seems peaceful. However, that first night something strange happens.
1. A New Home

_**Hello there, or perhaps 'Nice to meet you,' is more appropriate.**_

_**I would like to welcome you to the beginning of a new story. My name is Zarosguth and I am glad you decided to take your time to click on this story in order to read it. I hope I will not disappoint you. Now then, let us get started with the first chapter of 'Silver Hair and Golden Eyes'.**_

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**Chapter 1: A New Home**

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Rena wasn't a normal girl. She was, in fact, an elf. But even then, she wasn't just any elf. She was an elf living in the world of humans. She didn't remember how she ended up living in the human world. Neither did she know how to return to the world of elves. Sadly, the human world contained less magical energy than the elven world. This caused Rena's health to be quite delicate. Nothing life threatening but she would have cases of extreme fatigue, or she would get a cold more often than the everyday person.

Despite her delicate health, Rena was a happy, easy-going girl. People liked her and respected her. And why would anyone dislike her? She was kind, thoughtful, smart, a good listener and not bad looking either. She had beautiful, long, soft, blonde hair, shining green eyes that could brighten anyone's day and a well-shaped body. Her skin was also free of any blemishes and, not to mention, soft to the touch. Of course, this would occasionally cause someone to get jealous of her. But even then, she could befriend them.

It was at the end of summer, autumn would soon begin but the weather was still very gentle. Rena stood in front of a villa just outside the village of Ruben. She was wearing a bright green summer dress that matched her eyes and light brown open-toed slippers. "_So, this will be my new home._" She thought to herself. She was nervous. "_Me? Living in a huge house like this? That'll become lonely real quick I'm sure._" She walked through the open front gate through the small front garden. The garden was full of beautiful flowers that seemed well-kept. The reason Rena had come to this house was because of a letter she'd received from someone calling themselves a philanthropist who'd heard of Rena's delicate health and wanted her to move to a place where the air and water were more clean. Rena had dismissed the letter originally but a second letter came. This letter contained a key as well as a ticket to travel to Ruben. That was when Rena decided she could do with some excitement in her life and took this as an opportunity. Rena walked up to the front door. The door was made of beautiful dark wood, decorated with a shining metal framework. By the looks of it, the wood might even have been mahogany. Rena pulled out the key that had come with the second letter and put it inside the lock. She turned it and the door opened.

Rena stepped inside and looked around her. The hallway was nothing too extravagant. There was a staircase leading up to the second floor. The floor was made of marble and looked clean enough to eat from. A few tables with flowers on them, as well as a number of scenery paintings decorated the hallway walls.

Rena stood there, quiet for a moment but then she heard footsteps approaching which startled her. A young man with long black hair, that was broken by a streak of red walked up to her. He wore a plain, red, short-sleeved shirt, black jeans and matching black sandals. His skin was somewhat tanned and he had a few scars on his face. His eyes were a golden yellow. His expression looked a bit cold but his eyes had a gentle feel to them. His left arm however, was a menacing-looking mechanical arm which slightly frightened Rena.

The man took a quick glance at Rena and spoke: "Ah, you must be miss Rena, the new owner of this fine house. Welcome. I am Raven, this villa's manager." His voice was a pleasant low tone and sounded as gentle as his eyes looked. Rena just stared at him and nodded, still nervous. Raven looked at her with understanding eyes and asked her if she'd like a tour of the house. As they walked through the house and looked at the several rooms Raven talked to Rena to try and take some of her nervousness away.  
"I am very glad to have a new master in this house." He said. "A house as beautiful as this deserves to be appreciated by someone evenly as beautiful." Rena felt somewhat embarrassed by this comment but it did help to calm her down.  
"T-thank you." She smiled. Raven showed Rena most of the rooms in the house. The living room, the kitchen, the recreation room which harboured a number of bookcases filled completely with all sorts of books. All the while Raven talked about the history of the house as well as what his own tasks were.  
"I am in charge of keeping this house clean and everything within it functioning. The garden is my responsibility as well. My main concern however, is the well-being of the villa's owner. Which is you, miss Rena." Raven explained.  
"I see." Rena said, impressed by the beauty and cleanliness of each and every room.  
"This corridor," Raven explained. "Is what connects the villa to the manager's house where I live. If you ever need any help with anything, don't hesitate to visit."  
"Thank you. I will."

Raven took Rena to her bedroom.  
"This is your bedroom. I already put most of your belongings, you clothes etcetera, in the appropriate places. That box there contains the belongings I couldn't give a place. You'll have to see to those yourself. You can, of course, also give them a place in other parts of the house. It is your home now after all. And as such, it should feel like home." Raven smiled. "I will leave you now. Dinner will be served at six. If there's anything you don't like to eat then please tell me." Rena nodded. "Do you remember where the dining room is?"  
"Right next to the kitchen right?" Rena asked. Raven nodded.  
"One more thing. You must be tired so feel free to take a bath if you want. I prepared the bathroom. It is opposite of your bedroom."  
"Thank you Raven." Raven bowed and left Rena alone in her bedroom.

Rena looked around her new bedroom. It was a spacious room with a huge bed in the centre. On one side of the bed stood a nightstand with an alarm clock on it. Just above the nightstand hung a small reading light. On the other side of the bed there was a built-in closet. Rena opened it to find her clothes. On the side of the bed that had the nightstand, there stood a small desk with a desk lamp on top of it. Above the desk was an open window, allowing air to circulate through the room. Rena opened the box Raven had pointed out and found her diary among a few other things. She took the diary out of the box and placed it in the drawer of her nightstand. Rena let out a deep sigh and looked at the alarm clock.  
"_4:45pm. I guess I could take a nice, relaxing bath._" She thought to herself. She head into the bathroom. The bathroom had a shower as well as a bath. She found towels and soap in the cabinet above the washing table. She turned open the faucet above the bathtub and let it fill up.

While she lay there in the bathtub, enjoying the feeling of the water on her skin she started thinking: "_I rushed into this without thinking didn't I? I hope I made the right decision. I guess I'll visit the village tomorrow. Maybe Raven can show me around a bit. I'd love to meet the villagers._" After about an hour Rena looked at the clock that was hanging in the bathroom. "_I should get ready for dinner._" She thought as she heard her stomach growl. "_Yup, definitely got to get ready for dinner._"

After she'd gotten out of the bath and dried off Rena got dressed and went down the stairs and walked to the dining room. When she entered the room she found that Raven was just filling a bowl with soup.  
"There you are, I was about to go and check on you." Raven smiled gently. Rena nodded and sat down at the table. Raven sat down opposite her.  
"I hope you'll like my cooking." Raven said. "I've never been much of a chef."  
"Thanks for the meal." Rena said as she took a sip of her soup. They ate in silence. Rena wasn't quite sure what to talk about. Plus, she was quite hungry.  
"This is really pretty good!" Rena said enthusiastically as she finished her soup.  
"I'm glad to hear that." Raven said. After Raven had served dessert Rena asked: "So Raven, can you tell me a bit about yourself?" Rena was curious.  
Raven was a bit hesitant. "I'm not that good at talking about myself."  
"Please?" Rena pleaded.  
"Alright then." Raven sighed.

"I am originally from Velder." Raven started. "I used to be the leader of the Black Crow Mercenaries."  
"You were a mercenary?"  
"Yes."  
"So, that is why you have those scars?"  
"Yes, they're all old combat injuries."  
"I see, please go on."  
"We were a famous band of mercenaries. Our strength and devotion to the kingdom of Velder was unparalleled. That is, until the incident." Raven looked down at his plate and clenched his hands into fists.  
"The 'incident'?" Rena asked curiously.  
"I am sorry miss Rena. I do not wish to talk about it." Rena could see that it was clearly a difficult topic for Raven so she decided not to press it any further.  
"You don't have to talk about it."  
"Thank you... I will tell you this though: That incident, is the reason I have this." Raven said as he held up his mechanical arm.  
"I see." Rena said. They ate the rest of their dinner in silence.

It was in the middle of the night, about three o'clock. Rena was sleeping soundly. Her bedroom window was open, allowing fresh, cool air to ventilate through the room. Everything seemed peaceful. But a sudden change in atmosphere caused Rena to slowly wake up. The change in atmosphere was not something that could be felt by humans. It was like some sort of presence had appeared in the room. Rena slowly opened her emerald green eyes, her vision still blurry. She thought she saw something moving and when her vision cleared up she saw a young woman. She looked like she was old enough to be a college student. This mysterious woman was standing in Rena's bedroom, next to her bed. Rena was surprised and wanted to get up, maybe even scream. But she couldn't. She was unable to move her body or speak. She could only stare at the silhouette of the woman standing in her room. As her eyes got more used to the darkness Rena saw that the woman stood with her back facing towards Rena. The woman had long, smooth, silver hair and, as far as Rena could see, she was wearing a plain black t-shirt and white jeans. The woman then turned around and looked at Rena. her facial expression could best be described as being void of any and all emotion.

"Rena…" The mysterious woman whispered. She leaned over and brought her face close to Rena's. Rena noticed a blue gemstone on the woman's forehead. Rena and the strange woman looked each other straight in the eyes. Even though an unknown woman had somehow gotten into her bedroom and was staring her straight in the eyes, Rena felt strangely at ease.  
"_Golden eyes. Just like Raven_" Rena thought. The woman's golden eyes were beautiful and seemed to shine brightly in the darkness. The woman's eyes were almost hypnotising. Rena became mesmerized by them. The woman gently kissed Rena on the forehead and whispered:  
"I am so glad you came here. Thank you." Rena's eyelids became heavy again and she fell back to sleep.

The next morning Rena woke up. It took her a moment to realize where she was. "_Oh right, my new home._" Suddenly she was wide awake as she remembered what had happened last night. She jumped out of bed and got dressed. She ran down the stairs and went to the kitchen. There she found Raven preparing breakfast.  
"Ah, miss Rena." He greeted. "I trust you slept well last night?" Rena looked at Raven with wild eyes. "Is something the matter? Are you feeling alright?" Raven asked worriedly.  
"I… I…" Rena didn't know what to say or how to explain what had happened last night. Raven tried to calm her down.  
"Please, miss Rena. Please sit down and try to speak calmly." Raven said to Rena in a gentle tone as he helped her sit down at the kitchen table. He poured her a glass of water and sat down next to her, his human hand on her shoulder.  
"Last night," Rena started to explain between her gulps of water. "When I was sleeping. A woman with silver hair and golden eyes was in my bedroom." Raven looked at Rena in disbelief.  
"A woman?" He asked.  
"I know it sounds crazy alright! But I know what I saw."  
"Miss Rena, I'm sure it was all just a dream. Don't forget that you just moved to a new home in a completely different place." Raven tried to rationalize. Rena took a deep breath and followed it with an equally deep sigh.  
"I suppose you're right. It's just… It all seemed so real."  
"Don't worry about it miss Rena. Now how about we eat breakfast and I will show you around town today?"  
"Okay."

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_**Is Raven right? Was it all just a dream? Or is there something more going on here? Only time will tell.  
How much time it will take to tell is unknown to me at this point in time. Don't expect the next chapter up too soon. If you wish to influence how this story progresses you can always leave feedback and ideas in a review. I highly appreciate constructive criticism.**_

_**May we meet again, fare thee well.**_


	2. A New Village

_**Hello and welcome back to 'Silver Hair and Golden Eyes'.  
I am glad that the first chapter captured your interest enough to warrant you reading the second chapter. It is a bit short though but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless.**_

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**Chapter 2: A New Village**

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"Are you ready to go miss Rena?" Raven asked Rena as they'd just passed through the front gate and were standing on the road that led to Ruben. Before Rena could answer a troop of knights clad in red armour marched by. Rena stared at them in awe. When they'd passed Rena asked: "Who were they?"  
"They are the Red Knights." Raven answered.  
"The Red Knights?" Rena wanted to know more.  
"Yes, they are the elite guardians of Ruben. Their trademark is their red armour. They're quite famous around these parts. Especially because of a certain two knights among them."  
"A certain two knights?"  
"Yes. They are brother and sister. The sister is the eldest one. Her name is Elesis. There is not a single person, man or woman that would dare challenge her. She might be strict and easily provoked, but she's a good person. Incidentally she also happens to be the captain of the Red Knights. As for the brother, his name is Elsword. He is being trained by Elesis on a daily basis. Elsword can be a bit of a handful but Elesis does a good job of keeping him in line."  
"I see." Rena took in the information Raven had just given her.  
"Well then miss Rena, shall we be on our way. I'm sure you'll see the Red Knights again once we're in the village."  
"Okay, let's go!" Rena was looking forward to visiting the village and meet new people.

Rena and Raven had reached the village. The village had a very rustic charm to it. There wasn't much but the houses looked cosy and elegant. As they walked through the village Raven pointed out the locations of the shops. Rena had never been to a small village. At least not that she could remember but she felt right at home. It was then that Rena noticed that the villagers were staring at both her and Raven.  
"Um… Raven?" Rena nudged Raven a bit nervously. "Is it me or are people staring at us?" It wasn't that Rena wasn't used to people looking at her. She was aware of the fact that she was quite the looker. But something was different. This wasn't the regular 'Hey, take a look at that chick!'-stare. This was more of a 'Who or what is that?'-stare.  
"Do not worry miss Rena. The people in this village aren't used to having many non-human visitors. They've definitely never seen an elf before."  
"Oh. I guess that makes sense."  
"I've been coming here for the past five years and some people are still not used to me and my arm."

"Ah, Raven!" Rena heard a rough-sounding male voice say. The two of them turned around and were greeted by a large bearded man with brown hair.  
"Good day chief Hagus." Raven greeted.  
"And who might this be?" Hagus asked politely, stretching out his hand towards Rena.  
"I am Rena Nightingale." Rena answered as she shook Hagus' hand.  
"Nice to meet you Rena. I am Hagus, chief of Ruben." Hagus introduced himself. "So you're the new resident living in the villa just outside the village?"  
"Yes, that would be me." Rena said, wondering how Hagus knew of her.  
"Ah, you lucky girl." Hagus laughed. "How long have you been here now?" He asked.  
"This is my second day here. Raven is showing me around." Rena answered.  
"Ah, then you are in good hands. Raven is a very dependable man."  
"Please chief Hagus, I don't like it when you brag about me." Raven said calmly.  
"Nonsense, I can't throw in a good word for a friend? You're the one who has been managing that huge house on your own for the past five years Raven. I do think some praise is in order every now and again." Hagus laughed heartily.

After some more small talk, Rena and Raven said their goodbyes to Hagus and continued on their way.  
"Hagus appears to be a very kind and respectable man." Rena remarked.  
"He is, miss Rena. Without him, the village would crumble because of a lack of strong leadership." Raven said. Rena suddenly heard the clattering of armour and stomping footsteps approach. She looked it the direction of the sound and saw the same troop of Red Knight from before. This time, however, they were led by a young woman with crimson hair and crimson eyes. The woman ordered the knights to halt and walked up to Raven and Rena.  
"So, you finally got yourself a girlfriend?" The woman asked Raven with a smirk on her face. Rena blushed slightly but Raven simply answered:  
"No, this is miss Rena, she's the new master to the villa." Raven then turned to Rena. "Miss Rena, this is Elesis, captain of the Red Knights."  
"_This is the captain of the Red Knights? She looks younger than Raven._" Rena wondered. "_She does look pretty strong though._"  
"Pleased to meet you. I am Rena Nightingale." Rena introduced herself.  
"Elesis Braveheart. The pleasure's all mine." Elesis said with a smirk of her face. "Elsword!" She yelled. One of the knights stepped forward. He had the same hair and eye colour as Elesis. "This is my younger brother Elsword." Elesis introduced him.  
"Yo." Elsword said, immediately receiving a hit to the back of the head by Elesis. "What was that for!?" He yelled as he rubbed the back of his head.  
"For being an idiot without manners!" Elesis snapped at him. Raven laughed, causing Rena to giggle as well.

The Red Knights had to move on so Rena and Raven moved on as well. They walked in silence until they heard someone scream.  
"Watch out!" A girl's voice yelled. Raven reacted quickly and managed to catch the young girl right before she fell on top of Rena. The girl looked at Raven in embarrassment.  
"Sorry, my flying spell didn't work out that well." She said with an embarrassed blush on her face. Raven put her down and she introduced herself.  
"Hi, I'm Aisha." Aisha was an enthusiastic young girl who studied the magic arts. She had purple hair bound in pigtails and purple eyes. She wore a simple purple shirt with matching skirt. In her right hand she held a small staff.  
"Pleased to meet you Aisha. My name is Rena." Rena said politely. Aisha turned to Raven.  
"Hey Raven, is she…?" Raven laughed.  
"You're the second one to ask me this today. But no, miss Rena is the new master of the villa I work at." Aisha's eyes widened and she turned back to Rena.  
"Does that mean you're rich?" She asked.  
"No, I'm not." Rena giggled. "I was invited by the original owners."  
"Why?" Aisha asked. Rena fell quiet. She wasn't quite sure herself. "_The letters said it had to do with my delicate health. But was that really the whole reason?_"  
"I'm not too sure myself actually." Rena answered truthfully.  
"Oh ok. So, what're you up to now?" Aisha asked.  
"I am showing miss Rena around." Raven answered.  
"Oh, well I'm going to try perfecting my new spell. I'll see you later Rena!" Aisha winked.  
"I'd like that." Rena smiled.

"She's a nice girl." Rena said as she and Raven walked back to the villa.  
"That she is. And a fine magician I might add." Raven said. Rena thought of all the people she met in the village today. "_Such nice people. The atmosphere is very nice as well. I think I'll enjoy it here._"

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_**Again, the chapter was a bit short. My sincerest apologies. I am somewhat torn between writing longer chapters, and not having too many different things happen in one chapter to make it all more comprehensible. For now I prioritise comprehension over chapter length. If you think that is the wrong choice then by all means, let me know. For now, I will focus on chapter three. If you happen to notice anything in the form of grammatical errors or spelling mistakes please let me know so I can fix those. Otherwise constructive criticism about anything is greatly appreciated.**_

_**May we meet again, fare thee well.**_


	3. Peaceful Days

_**Welcome back dear reader, this is chapter three of 'Silver Hair and Golden Eyes'. I wrote this the same day as chapter two, so I hope it doesn't feel rushed.**__** I hope you'll enjoy.**_

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**Chapter 3: Peaceful Days**

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That night Rena had trouble falling asleep. She thought of the woman that had appeared the night before. "_Was she really a dream? If not, then who and how?_" These thoughts plagued Rena until she fell into a restless sleep. When she woke up the next morning she looked at her alarm clock. "_5:30am? Are you serious?_" She thought. "_Argh, and I'm wide awake as well._" Rena just lay there in her bed until she became bored. "_Might as well get up._" Rena got up, washed herself and got dressed.

Rena walked through the villa. "_I wonder what time Raven usually gets up._" She decided she might as well check. She walked to the corridor that connected the villa to the manager's house. She walked through the corridor and opened the door at the end. She tried to be as quiet as she could. Not wanting to disturb Raven if he was still asleep. She opened the door about halfway. She saw that Raven wasn't asleep and was, in fact, doing one-armed push-ups with his normal arm. Raven was not wearing a shirt. Rena blushed slightly as she saw Raven's naked torso. She saw a huge x-shaped scar on his back. "_I wonder how he got that one._" She thought. Taking a quick glance through the room, there wasn't much in it. The walls were bare with only a few windows. There were a small bed and a worn-out couch. Rena opened the door a bit more, which caused it to creak. Raven turned his head towards the door and looked at her. Rena's face became even brighter red.  
"I'm sorry!" She quickly apologised. Raven simply smiled and walked up to Rena.  
"Is there anything I can help you with miss Rena?" He asked politely.  
"Uh… no, I just woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep." Rena answered.  
"In that case, should I prepare breakfast a bit earlier?"  
"Uh, yeah. Thank you." Rena's face was still red.  
"Not at all." Raven said. "It's my job after all."

After a somewhat early breakfast Rena went to the recreation room to take a look at the books she saw there the first day to see if there was anything of interest. After she'd found a book that looked interesting she went to the living room. The weather was becoming colder, otherwise she would've read the book outside. As she sat there, quietly reading her book, Raven walked by her and said:  
"I'm going to do some grocery shopping in the village. Do you need anything miss Rena?" Rena thought about it for a bit but realised quickly she didn't even know what they had in terms of snacks and sweets.  
"Do we have any form of sacks or sweets here?" Rena asked.  
"I'm afraid not. What kind of things would suit your tastes?"  
"Um… Really, anything sweet goes."  
"I'll see what I can do. I'll be off then."  
"Okay Raven. See you." Raven bowed and went on his way to Ruben. Rena sighed. "_Having someone work for me like this is going to take some getting used to. I mean, it's somewhat nice but I do wish he would stop it with the whole 'miss Rena' nonsense._" She continued reading her book. It was a fun story but she started to feel a bit lonely. All alone in this big living room in this big villa.

Suddenly she felt as if someone was looking at her from the big window on the left of the couch she was sitting on. When she looked outside she swore she saw something move. Rena walked up to the window and stared outside. It had started raining, autumn clearly kicking in. Rena stared at the rain. It was pouring down like mad. The sound of the rain clattering against the window calmed Rena down. This calm feeling didn't last long when she suddenly felt as if someone was standing behind her.

Rena turned around and found herself facing the mysterious woman from the first night. Rena knew for sure she wasn't dreaming this time. Rena tried to do something, anything but her body didn't move. She stood there with her back leaning against the window. The mysterious woman looked at her. The mysterious woman's face was still devoid of any emotion. Her golden eyes staring directly into Rena's green eyes. The blue gem on the mysterious woman's forehead seemed to glow slightly. Her silver hair flowing down her back like silk. She was wearing the same clothes as that first night as well. The woman approached Rena slowly. She stretched her arms towards Rena as she kept coming closer. Rena felt like she was panicking but her body still wouldn't move. The woman reached Rena and embraced her. Rena felt strangely safe in the arms of this unknown woman. The woman brought her face up to Rena's and kissed her on the lips. Rena felt her face lighting up. "_Why? What's going on. I don't…_" Rena's thought was interrupted when the mysterious woman started using her tongue to separate Rena's lips.

Locked in a passionate kiss Rena felt like she was losing her mind. The mysterious woman then broke off the kiss and stared Rena in the eyes again. Rena was breathing heavily.  
"I love you Rena." The mysterious woman whispered. Rena didn't understand. "_Who are you?_" She thought. The woman and Rena looked at each other with questioning looks on their faces.  
"Could it be… that you don't remember?" She asked in a quiet tone. Rena grew even more confused as she felt her consciousness slip away.

Rena woke up violently. She sat up on the living room couch. She felt something cold fall into her lap.  
"Kyaaa!" She yelled.  
"You're awake miss Rena, I am so glad you're okay!" Raven sat next to the couch on a small stool. Rena looked at Raven. She then looked down at her lap and saw an ice-bag lying there. She then noticed she also had a blanket over her. Rena looked at Raven with question marks all over her face.  
"What… happened?" She mumbled.  
"I do not know." Raven answered. "I found you collapsed on the floor by the window when I came home."  
"_The window? So it was real…?_"  
"Your face was red and your forehead felt very hot. So I put you on the couch and gave you that ice-bag as well as a blanket." Raven continued. "How are you feeling?" Rena felt her own forehead which was now cold due to the ice. She threw the blanket off and said:  
"Thank you. I feel fine."  
"I am glad to hear it." Raven sighed in relief. "Just in case, I would like for you to take it easy miss Rena. I have heard of your health problems and I'd rather not have anything happen to you." Rena nodded.  
"What time is it?" She asked.  
"It is about 5:45pm. Would you like me to start cooking dinner?" Rena shook her head.  
"Could you… stay with me a bit longer?" She asked, as she lay back down on the couch and wrapped herself in the blanket.  
"As long as you wish." Raven smiled gently.

Raven had prepared some chicken soup to help Rena feel better. They sat in the dining room eating. Rena still had the blanket wrapped around her, she was quiet and seemed distressed. Raven tried to make some small talk in order to lift the mood a little.  
"Autumn is finally beginning. Can you imagine my surprise as I walked out of the grocery store into the rain?" Raven laughed. Rena, however, was lost in thought.  
"Uh-huh." She muttered. "_Just who was that woman? I've seen her twice now. And what should I remember? Have I met her before? No, I've never met her before. I'm sure of it. And... she kissed me. Another woman... and I didn't... dislike it._" Rena ate quietly.  
"Miss Rena, is something the matter?" Raven asked worriedly. Rena looked at him. "_I don't want to talk about it._" She thought. "_He wouldn't believe me anyway._"  
"No, it's nothing." Rena said, sounding anything but convincing. Raven sighed.  
"If that is what you say, then I will not ask any further. Just remember that if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'll be there miss Rena."  
"You know. I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop calling me that." Rena said, suddenly annoyed. "Just call me Rena! All of that 'miss Rena' business is getting on my nerves. Just Rena is fine!" Raven looked at Rena in surprise and Rena instantly felt bad. It wasn't Raven's fault that he addressed her like that. That was simply part of his job.  
"I-I'm sorry." She whispered.  
"If that is what you want, then 'Rena' it is." Raven said in an understanding tone of voice. Rena looked up at Raven who had a friendly smile on his face. "Just don't expect me to drop a habit instantly Rena." He said. Rena smiled. She decided to stop thinking about what had happened earlier that day and instead focus on enjoying the turn her life had taken. She was looking forward to some peaceful days.

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_**The plot is moving along somewhat slowly but I hope it's not too slow for your liking, dear reader. As always, I appreciate ideas, suggestions and constructive criticism. Thoughtful reviews are greater than favs or follows. Not that I don't appreciate those but... you know.**_

_**May we meet again, fare thee well.**_


	4. Artistic Pastime

_**I've been working on this chapter for a while before I even released chapter three, so there you have the reason why this chapter has been released so quickly after the previous chapter. It'll take a bit longer before the fifth chapter is done as I haven't even started work on it yet.  
Now, before we move on I'd like to reply to some reviews. Feel free to skip ahead a bit if you're not interested in that.**_

_**Awakened Hades: Yes, yes I do. I actually have quite an explicit yuri story under the name: 'A Black Bird's Metamorphosis'. Feel free to check it out if you want. (Warning: Sour yellow fruit.)**_

_**jayjayplaya987: I'm not sure yet myself. I really like both RavenxRena and RenaxEve. I might go with a three-way romance but for now I'll just see where the story takes me. Nothing set in stone yet.**_

_**Icebella: Thank you for your review. I am glad you're enjoying the story so far. One of my concerns was actually that I might've been a bit too formal in some cases since I usually act quite formal. So I am glad you think that's not the case. I am also happy that you like the event ratio per chapter as that was one of my other concerns. Here's a new chapter.**_

_**Moving on, let us continue this tale with chapter four.**_

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**Chapter 4: Artistic Pastime**

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Rena sat on her bed in her bedroom. She was rummaging through the box of stuff that she'd previously found her diary in. In the box she found a number of tubes of paint. As well as a palette and brushes of various shapes and sizes. Rena wasn't quite sure why she'd opted to take her painting supplies with her rather than some of the paintings she'd made in the past. Rena loved to paint. Because of her delicate health she was never able to go outside much. To cure her boredom she'd picked up painting as a hobby. At first she would paint things she had found in her apartment as well as her apartment itself. She even made a self-portrait at some point. Eventually she started painting whatever came to mind. She would especially paint landscapes she'd thought up herself. From luscious forests to barren deserts. From tall mountain ranges to tropical jungles. As she painted she would imagine what it'd be like to visit such areas.

Rena felt the urge to paint welling up inside her. "_Maybe there's a room here where I can paint. Something like an atelier._" She thought. "_Maybe Raven has an idea!_" Rena stood up and went looking for the man in question. She went through the corridor connecting to the manager's house and knocked on the door. She opened it and looked through the open door. "_Hm, nobody here. Wonder where he is._" Rena walked through the villa. As she passed the living room she heard a stumbling sound coming from inside.  
"Raven?" Rena said as she walked into the room. She saw plastic sheets covering the furniture as well as part of the floor.  
"Ah, miss Rena." Raven greeted.  
"Didn't I tell you to stop it with the 'miss Rena' nonsense?" Rena pouted.  
"Apologies, habits die hard I suppose." Raven snickered. "Anyway, what can I do for you?"  
"Ah yes, are you busy at the moment?"  
"Well, I am making preparations to clean the chimney for the upcoming winter. I do believe you'd like to be warm this winter. But I can always make time to help you." Raven bowed his head.  
"It's just… I was wondering if there's a room I could use as an atelier." Raven crossed his arms and put on a thinking face.  
"What exactly do you intend to use this atelier for?" He asked.  
"I like to paint." Rena smiled. Raven closed his eyes and thought for a moment. He then opened his eyes and said:  
"I think I know just the place." Rena caught a glimpse of Raven's eyes and swore she could see a very enthusiastic sparkle in them.  
"Okay, if it's as good as you're letting on then I'll have to make you a painting as thanks." She laughed.

Raven led Rena through a part of the villa she hadn't seen before. The walls and floors looked a bit old and worn.  
"I apologize for the state these hallways are in. This is the oldest part of the villa." Raven explained. Rena nodded as she looked at the old and majestic looking walls in awe. The woodwork was old, but it was also very detailed and the craftsmanship was superb. Raven and Rena stopped at a door at the end of the hallway. Raven took out a key ring and flipped through the keys.  
"Ah, here we go." He said as he stuck a small brass key into the lock on the door. He turned the key and opened the door. Holding it open for Rena to enter.

Rena stood in the middle of the room. It was a huge, open room. Likely an actual old atelier. It smelled a bit mouldy but that was probably just the smell of the old wood. One wall had quite a big brown tattered curtain hanging on it with a rope, likely used to open and close it, hanging next to it. On the ceiling there hung a bare light bulb. The room was quite dusty and there were a fair number of cobwebs. In one corner there was a pile of cardboard boxes and old wooden crates. Rena spun around, enjoying the huge amount of space. She saw the potential this room had and a great big smile appeared on her face.  
"I love it!" She said.  
"It gets better." Raven said as he walked towards the curtain and pulled on the rope, opening the curtains, revealing a huge window that gave a beautiful view on the backyard as well as the forest that was behind it. Rena stared outside with her eyes wide open. She suddenly felt greatly inspired.  
"Raven, we need to get this room in order A-S-A-P!" Rena almost yelled out of enthusiasm. Raven smiled and said:  
"I'll see to it right away."

The rest of the afternoon Raven and Rena spent cleaning the room. Raven also found an old painting easel in the room, under the pile of empty cardboard boxes. Together, he and Rena took a look at their handiwork. The dust and cobwebs were gone, the old curtain was replaced with a new bright white one. Raven had installed a number of shelves for storage of paint and other necessities in the corner that previously housed the cardboard boxes and wooden crates. The painting easel stood in the middle as the room's centrepiece. In front of it stood a simple stool and there stood a table next to it. On the table stood a small CD-player that was connected with the power outlet through an extension cord. Above the door that served as the entrance and exit to the atelier hung an old clock that Rena had found in one of the other older rooms in the villa.

Overcome with joy at her new atelier Rena hugged Raven tightly.  
"Thank you so much!" She said and gave Raven a kiss on the cheek, causing the usually calm and collected Raven to gain a slight blush. Rena was too enthused to notice the slight red tinge on Raven's face though. Rena walked up to the painting easel and looked out the window past it. She then turned to face Raven, looking slightly embarrassed.  
"R-Raven?" she stuttered.  
"Hm? What is it miss- sorry, Rena?" Raven asked.  
"I think we forgot something." Rena said as she grew even more embarrassed.  
"What do you m- Oooh…" Raven began to laugh.  
"It's not funny!" Rena pouted.  
"Do not worry, I forgot as well." Raven said in-between fits of laughter. He looked outside. "It's not too late, if we hurry we can make it to Elder in time before the shops close."  
"Elder?" Rena asked curiously.  
"It is a big town neighbouring Ruben." Raven explained. "I'm sure they sell canvases there."  
"Then let's go!" Rena said. "I'd like to start painting as soon as possible!"

That evening Rena sat in the atelier. Looking at the clean, empty canvas that was strapped to the easel. She had a brush in hand. The room was dimly lit by the light bulb that hung from the ceiling. Calm, jazzy music played from the CD-player giving the entire room a very serene atmosphere. Rena stared at the sky outside through the big window behind the canvas. The sky was clear that night. And it was a full moon to boot. Rena stared at the beautiful silver orb hanging in the night sky. She took her paintbrush and brought it to her palette. She mixed some of the colours to create a silvery colour that matched the moon. Slowly but determinately she then brought her brush to the canvas. She started painting the night sky as she saw it through the window.

Absorbed in her work she dreamt of watching the moon with Raven. She had grown to like Raven a lot. Not just as someone that worked in her home, but as a friend, a bit of a brother-figure or maybe even more. She wasn't sure. A voice started singing from the CD-player, a pleasant sounding male voice that sung of the hardships of everyday life. Rena started painting more fiercely, her brush making strong elegant strokes on the canvas. When the song from the CD-player changed Rena stopped painting and stared at the painting as it was so far. It could still use some work but Rena was happy with how the moon on the painting had turned out. She stared outside again. Looking at the moon, the silver colour suddenly reminded her of the mysterious woman that had visited her two times. The same questions started popping up in her head again. Rena sighed. She looked at the clock that hung above the door. It was getting late, but she knew these questions would keep her from getting a good night's sleep. Rena took the current painting off of the easel and placed a clean canvas in its place. She started working on a different painting.

The next morning Raven knocked on Rena's bedroom door. There was no reply. Raven opened the door to find that Rena's bedroom was empty. He thought about it for a bit. Then he realized where Rena had to be. Raven walked through the hallways, then through the old hallways and up to the atelier. He slowly opened the door and found Rena sleeping on the stool in from of the canvas. Her upper body resting on the table next to the canvas. He smiled and walked up to Rena. He took a blanket and put it over her. His vision then turned to the canvas. He saw a painting of a person he didn't recognize. It was the portrait of a woman. She had a blue gem on the forehead of her emotionless face, silver hair and golden eyes. Raven stared at the painting. He then remembered what Rena had told him she'd seen that first night.  
"Is this... her?" Raven wondered.

* * *

_**Originally I was a bit torn between Rena's hobby being either painting or playing some sort of musical instrument. I ultimately chose painting as I figured I could use that better in the story.  
I've been listening a lot to the music made by Senpai. Especially his song 'Until We Reach The End' is a great source of motivation. Look him up, he's a great musician.  
While I'm suggesting artists, I will also recommend Ryan Hellsing, Amon Tobin (Cujo), Nujabes and Skeleton with Eyes. All produce great music. (Skeleton with Eyes is actually my older brother, but his music is really good. Feel free to tell him his younger brother sent you.)  
As always, suggestions, ideas and constructive criticism are welcome. If you notice any errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar or maybe the misuse of words (English is not my native language so it's very probable that I use words wrongly), point those out as well. I want to get rid of those sooner rather than later.**_

_**May we meet again, fare thee well.**_


	5. The Beauty of Nature

_**Hello and welcome back. I don't have much to say about this chapter. Just that this is one of the few chapters that was written almost entirely on the train or bus. Normally I only write fragments and short scenes I know I want to use in a story and work it out on my computer. This chapter however I wrote almost entirely from beginning to end by hand with a good old-fashioned pen on paper.**_

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Beauty of Nature**

* * *

Rena woke up on her stool in the atelier. She noticed the blanket that was put over her. She smiled. "_Must've been Raven. He sure looks out for me. He said it was his job after all._" Suddenly, she became insecure. "_Is it _just_ a job to him though? Am I just another person living in his care to him? No, I can't think like that. He looks out for me and I'm thankful for that._" Rena took a look at the clock above the door. It was almost noon. Rena decided to go to the kitchen to see if Raven had prepared breakfast.

That afternoon Rena sat in her atelier again. She stared at the painting of the mysterious woman she'd made the night before. Rena sighed. "_Just who-_" Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on the door.  
"Raven?" Rena asked.  
"Guess again!" A familiar female voice yelled as the door was thrown open.  
"Aisha!" Rena yelled in surprise.

Rena and Aisha sat in the villa's living room. Raven had brought them some tea and cookies.  
"So, painting huh?" Aisha tried to start a conversation.  
"Yes, it's been a passion of mine for quite a few years now." Rena answered.  
"That's pretty cool!" Aisha smiled. "What kind of things do you paint?"  
"Anything I like, or think is cool or pretty really."  
"If you want I can show you around the area sometime." Aisha proposed. "I know a lot of amazing sights and places."  
"I'd love that." Rena answered happily. The two took a sip of their tea and Aisha grabbed a cookie and took a bite.  
"So how about you?" Rena asked Aisha with curious eyes.  
"Eh, I'm not that great at painting." Aisha said. Rena laughed.  
"No, that's not what I meant!" She laughed out loud. "I'm talking about hobbies. You're really into magic right?"  
"I guess you could say that." Aisha answered. "But to me it's more than that. You see, my father was a great magician and a great teacher."  
"'Was'?"  
"Yes, he died a few years ago." Aisha looked down at her teacup, clenching it tightly in her hands.  
"Oh I'm sorry!" Rena apologized. "I didn't mean to make you upset!" Aisha took a deep breath and looked at Rena.  
"Don't worry about it." She said. "I'm fine. The other villagers have been taking care of me since then. I am a very lucky girl." Aisha smiled as she said this, clearly very grateful for the villagers of Ruben. "_She's so mature for her age._" Rena thought.

Aisha took another cookie and Rena took a cookie as well.  
"Hey Rena?" Aisha looked at Rena. "How about you? Do you have any family?" Rena stared at her teacup. Observing the green liquid in the cup.  
"I… don't know." She answered truthfully. "I don't remember much of anything. I just woke up in a forest one day, not remembering anything from the past."  
"I see." Aisha said. The conversation fell quiet. Both girls were unsure of what to say and the atmosphere was somewhat depressing. Aisha was the one to break the silence.  
"Let's go to the forest! I want to show you something amazing!"  
"What? Right now?" Rena asked in surprise.  
"Yes! Right now!" Aisha answered enthusiastically, grabbing Rena's hand and pulling her up.

After having told Raven she'd be gone for a bit, Rena let Aisha guide her through the forest. It was cold and the ground was muddy due to the heavy rainfall, so they both wore warm jackets and boots. Rena's jacket was khaki and her boots were grass green. Aisha wore a white jacket and dark blue boots. Aisha led Rena off the path and deep into the dense forest. To make sure they wouldn't get separated they made sure to hold hands. After walking for a few minutes Aisha whispered to Rena that they shouldn't speak louder than a whisper for now.  
"Rena, what I want to show you is really close by. But we have to make sure not to disturb it. So be as quiet as you can okay?" Rena nodded. She was curious what it was that Aisha wanted to show her. Based on the fact they had to be quiet must've meant that it was something living. Aisha walked up to a dense group of branches and carefully moved them aside with her hands. The sight beyond the branches caused Rena's jaw to drop.

Beyond the branches lay a clearing. In the middle of the clearing stood a single tree. Under the tree, a big white furry creature was sleeping. It had beautiful white fur and long thin horns on its head. It was breathing calmly, its body slowly moving up and down. Rena was staring at it in amazement. She never knew such a creature existed.  
"It's… beautiful." Rena whispered, still staring at it. She didn't want to look away. Aisha smirked.  
"That's the ancient Phoru. It is said to be the guardian of this forest."  
"Ancient… Phoru…" Rena repeated, gawking at the majestic-looking beast. The sun was setting and there weren't many clouds in the sky, causing an orange glow to cover everything in an enchanting light. This made the entire scene seem even more mystical and magical.  
"It's perfect." Rena felt greatly inspired. She felt tears welling up and just let them flow.  
"Thank you Aisha, thank you so much for showing me this." Rena turned to Aisha and hugged her. Aisha was somewhat surprised. But she was glad to be so greatly appreciated by Rena. Aisha hugged Rena back.  
"You're very much welcome." She said happily.

The following weeks Aisha came to visit almost every day. Sometimes she and Rena would just sit in the living room and talk. Other times Aisha had cooked up some spells she wanted to show off. Other times Aisha would keep Rena company when the latter was painting. Aisha also showed Rena more spectacles of nature. Such as Lake Noahs during sunrise and during sunset and the ruins situated in the forest. Rena also made an agreement with Raven that they'd take turns making dinner. Rena liked having some form of responsibility. As life was nice and peaceful, autumn gave way for winter.

It was afternoon, Rena sat in the living room drinking some hot cocoa. Winter had officially started though no snow had fallen yet. Rena stared outside. Outside she saw Raven was cutting logs for the fireplace. He wore a black waistcoat and black boots over his regular clothes. Rena looked as Raven set a log on the cutting block, swung the hatchet upward and then swung it downward to cut through the log clean and quick. Raven wiped the sweat off his brow and grabbed another log. Rena felt somewhat bad. She always felt like she let Raven do all the work for her. Raven always assured her that it was fine, since it was his job and all but Rena couldn't help but feel guilty. She stood up from the couch and went into the kitchen. She quickly prepared another cup of hot cocoa, put on her winter coat. A dark green coat with white fake fur on the ends of the sleeves. She stepped outside.  
"Hey there hard worker!" She greeted with a smile. Raven looked up. "I brought you something." Rena handed Raven the cup of cocoa.  
"Thank you miss Rena." He nodded. Rena gave Raven an annoyed look. "I am sorry. Rena." Rena and Raven laughed. It had been a few months since Rena started living here and Raven still addressed her as 'miss Rena'. Rena didn't mind all that much anymore. She'd gotten used to it. Rena smiled as she saw how Raven enjoyed his hot cocoa. She looked up at the sky when she noticed it had started snowing.  
"The first snow of the year…" Rena mused.  
"It's beautiful." Raven said. Together they stood there for a minute. Silent, in the first winter snow. Rena suddenly felt very cold.  
"I'm sorry, but I'm going back inside. You come inside as well, It is your turn but I'm helping you with the cooking tonight." She said.  
"Very well." Raven answered. They walked back inside together and went to the kitchen to make dinner.

That night Rena lay in bed. She couldn't sleep. The painting she had made of the mysterious woman was hanging on the wall opposite the bed. Rena hung it there herself after she'd framed it. It had been weeks since she was last approached by the mystery woman. "_Did I really imagine it all back then? Maybe the stress of starting a new life made me see things. Though I must say. I haven't fallen ill ever since that time she visited me for the second time._" Rena sighed and turned to her side. "_01:30am. I really should just get to sleep._" Not long after that, she fell into a nice and deep sleep.

* * *

_**Things should start picking up speed in the next chapter. I have a vague idea of where I want to go with this so I will have to give it all a bit more thought but the general idea is there. For now, any form of criticism is welcome (though constructive still works best) and also the pointing out of any typos etc. is greatly appreciated.**_

_**May we meet again, fare thee well.**_


	6. Illness

_**Hello and welcome back you fine people.  
This chapter contains a Metal Gear Solid reference. It's small but it's there. First to find it gets to win the awesome prize of knowing you were able to find it first. AMAZING!**_

* * *

**Chapter 6: Illness**

* * *

Rena woke up. It was still dark. She looked at her alarm clock. "_2:30am? Only an hour's sleep… Fantastic._" Rena sighed. "_And I'm wide awake too._" Rena turned around. "_Maybe a glass of water will help._" Rena stepped out of bed. It was cold so she put on her slippers and her robe. She went to the kitchen, grabbed a glass from a cupboard and filled it from the sink. Taking a sip of water she heard a strange noise which startled her. "_What was that noise?_" Curious, Rena decided to investigate. The noise was quite constant so it wasn't too hard to track down its source. It sounded like short electrical zaps and someone fumbling with small metal objects. As Rena got closer to the source of the noise she also heard faint whispering. Rena had reached the corridor that connected to the manager's house. In other words, Raven's room. The door at the end was slightly opened and light shone through the opening. "_What is Raven-_" Hearing the whispering again Rena's eyes widened in surprise. "_It can't be!_" Wanting to confirm her suspicions Rena quickly sneaked up to the door and peeked through the opening.

Raven lay in his bed. The bed sheets covered Raven up to just below his shoulders. His left arm lay stretched over a small table next to his bed. And there she was. The mysterious woman with silver hair and golden eyes was holding a small tool that looked a bit like a screwdriver. She appeared to be doing _something_ with Raven's mechanical arm. Rena didn't know what to make of the scene that played before her eyes. "_Did Raven lie to me when he said he didn't know this woman?_" Rena started to panic.  
"You should really take better care of that arm." Rena heard the mysterious woman whisper in a monotone voice. "I suppose it's my own fault. It is not like you know that I've been performing maintenance on it every now and again for the past five years you've been here. How could you? I've always made sure you'd stay asleep. You don't even know of my existence. But that should change soon. Once Rena remembers…" At the mention of her name Rena took a small step back and held her breath. "_Once I remember? What am I supposed to remember!?_" Rena started to panic even more. "_Did I really know this woman!?_"

"Maintenance complete."  
Rena looked up. "_I can't let her find me now!_" Rena moved quickly but silently back to her bedroom. She crawled into her bed. The excitement from what had just happened had left her exhausted but she couldn't fall asleep. If she wasn't sure before she definitely was now. The mysterious woman with silver hair and golden eyes was real. No doubt about it. And what was more, she has lived in this villa for at least as long as Raven has been managing it. Probably even longer. "_Is she the real owner? That would mean she has had to have hired Raven. But then Raven should know her and she herself said she's kept her existence hidden from him. How did she hire Raven as the villa's manager without him ever meeting her? No, that's not the issue here. Who is she in the first place?_"

The more Rena thought about it all, the less it made sense to her. She only became more and more tired. Eventually she fell into a restless sleep.

When Rena woke up the next morning she was still exhausted and the same questions that had plagued her the night before continued to plague her. She noticed she was still wearing her slippers and her robe. Rather than washing up and getting dressed Rena just went straight to the kitchen. There she found Raven preparing breakfast. He was blissfully ignorant of what had transpired that night. When Raven noticed Rena he grew visibly concerned.  
"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly.  
"I'm fine." Rena mumbled.  
"Nonsense! Your face is pale, your eyes are bloodshot and…" Raven placed his normal hand gently on Rena's forehead. His hand felt comfortably cool. "You have a fever!" Rena suddenly realized how bad she felt. She wasn't well indeed.  
"Let's get you back into bed." Raven said as he started leading Rena back to her bedroom.

Rena lay on the couch in the living room. She'd convinced Raven she didn't want to stay in her bed all day. She had a blanket draped over her and she had her head on a pillow. Per Rena's request Raven had brought the CD-player from the atelier to the living room. Calm music filled the room. Raven walked into the living room. He moved the small living room table closer to the couch and put a glass of orange juice on it.  
"Are you warm enough?" He asked. Rena shivered.  
"No, I still feel cold." She answered.  
"I'll light the fireplace. Just a second." Raven left the living room and quickly returned with a few logs for the fireplace. He placed them into the fireplace and aimed his mechanical arm at it. Vents on his arm opened and flames shot from the palm of his hand, lighting the fireplace.  
"So you're also a walking flamethrower?" Rena laughed jokingly. Raven smiled.  
"I am glad the fever hasn't taken away your sense of humour." He said.

Rena stared out the window. It was snowing.  
"Oh no, I was supposed to hang out with Aisha today!" She suddenly remembered.  
"Don't worry about it." Raven assured Rena. "I am sure she'll understand. If you'll excuse me, I have some business to take care of. Will you be alright?"  
"Yes, I'll be fine. Don't worry." Rena said. After Raven left Rena soon fell asleep to the soothing music that played from the CD-player.

Her vision was hazy as she woke up. Rena however, did recognize the silhouette of the person that was sitting in the chair close to the couch.  
"Hey there patient." A familiar energetic voice spoke. Rena's vision started to clear up.  
"Aisha? What are you-"  
"Raven came by to tell me you were ill and we couldn't hang out today. But I decided to come by anyway to cheer you up." Aisha smiled. "I found this at home. I thought you'd find it interesting." Aisha handed Rena a book. It was an art book containing pictures of works by Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh and Rembrandt van Rijn among others. The books also contained various bits of information about the art styles of these famous artist.  
"This is amazing Aisha. Thank you so much." Rena smiled, fighting back her tears as she was very touched by Aisha's kindness. Aisha smirked, somewhat embarrassed by Rena's gratitude.  
"You're very much welcome."

* * *

_**Argh, such a short chapter… My sincerest apologies.  
How many chapters have started with Rena waking up so far? It almost feels like that's how I begin every chapter. In fact, how many times in this chapter alone did she wake up? I really need to find a better way to transition between things. I guess it's somewhat justified in this chapter though. Oh well, you know the drill (I hope). Ideas, suggestions, praise, (constructive) criticism. All is welcome.**_

_**May we meet again, fare thee well.**_


	7. The Black Bird's Song of the Past

_**And now for a chapter that's a little bit different.**_

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Black Bird's Song of the Past**

* * *

Raven stood in the kitchen, preparing an ice bag to help counter Rena's fever. He brought the ice bag over to the living room where Rena lay on the couch.  
"Here you are." Raven said as he gently placed the ice bag on Rena's forehead. Rena let out a sigh of relief.  
"Thanks, that feels so much better." She mumbled. "Sorry for being such a bother."  
"Do not worry about it miss Rena. It is not your fault. Just get well soon."  
"I would probably recover more quickly if you stopped calling me that." Rena smiled.  
"That reminds me." Raven said. "We're out of cold medicine. I will have to go to Elder today to buy some. Aisha also told me she'd be visiting today as well. Once she arrives I will be on my way."  
"I see, thanks Raven."

The doorbell rang and Raven went to answer the door. As he'd suspected, it was Aisha.  
"Ah, welcome Aisha. Miss Rena is in the living room." Raven greeted.  
"Yo Raven. Still calling her that huh?" Raven ignored Aisha's comment.  
"If you get hungry there's some snacks in the kitchen. Please take good care of her."  
"Isn't that your job?" Aisha said in a mocking tone.  
"I need to buy some medicine from Echo in Elder. I'll try to get back as quick as I can." Raven explained.  
"I see, I'll look after her then. You can count on me!" Aisha said full of confidence.  
"Thank you." Raven smiled.

After he'd shown Aisha where she could find some snacks as well as some things Rena might need Raven went on his way to Elder. It was cold and snowing. Raven's steps were quick but controlled. The perfect balance of moving fast but not looking like you're in a major hurry. Walking past Lake Noahs Raven glanced at it. The water hadn't begun freezing yet, though with the temperatures as they were that wouldn't take much longer. "_It's been quite a while since Rena came to live here. Things sure have changed with her around._" Raven smiled. "_It's nice. Feeling like I have a purpose again. Granted, looking after the villa is important but when there's nobody to live, what good is a well-kept house?_" Raven's expression became more serious. "_I hope she recovers soon. I hate seeing her when she's ill. Such a good human- no, _elven_ being I suppose._" Raven snickered. "_An elf. I never even stood still by the fact she's an elf. I have seen non-human humanoid beings before. But never an elf. Never a being as beautiful as her._" Raven's face turned serious again. "_I cannot let myself fall in love with her. I work for her. And then there's the fact I would betray you…_"  
"Seris…" Raven whispered her name out loud. He turned his gaze skyward. "_It's been six years since I've lost you. But no matter how much time passes, I will not betray you. I will live on… for you and all of the others!_"

_Six years earlier. Raven was a proud warrior from Velder and the leader of a famous band of mercenaries, their name now forgotten. At that time the humans were at war with the Nasods. The Nasods had become corrupted by a virus that made them go berserk. This virus became known as the 'Virus of Madness'. Raven fought in the war, leading his crew from victory to victory. But no matter how many battles they won, the war didn't end. There were days Raven thought it all was futile. He never showed this to his crew though. He needed to appear confident before them, so that they could fight at their full strength. The only one that ever heard of Raven's true feelings was his fiancée, Seris.  
__One day, Raven was approached by Vanessa, the General of Velder's Royal Guard. She had a mission she believed only Raven and his crew could handle. The Velder Royal Guard had heard that the queen of Nasods, Lady Eve Silvermoon was unaffected by the Virus of Madness due to the elves interfering, somehow protecting the young queen. However, the elves couldn't rescue the queen from Altera Core, the capital of Altera. Altera was the land where the Nasods used to live peacefully alongside the Ponggo race. That is, they lived in peace until the virus outbreak. Now it was Raven's mission to go to Altera. Extract Lady Eve from the core and bring her to safety.  
__Raven and his crew took their airship and reached Altera smoothly. But getting closer and closer to the core they came upon stronger and stronger resistance from the corrupted Nasods. They fought many battles. Even against elite generals and guardians of the Nasod race. Some of them Raven had met before the Virus of Madness came along. Raven's heart was filled with grief as he had to fight warriors he once respected. But he knew it was for their own good. They were corrupted. Only by destroying them, he could save them. After many long battles, Raven and his crew managed to infiltrate the core. Inside, defences were even stronger but somehow they managed. Not without casualty however and as they reached the centre of the core they were only with half as many people as when they first infiltrated Altera._

Raven had arrived in Elder and was walking through the busy streets. He took in the busy atmosphere. He liked Elder, the people stared at him less than in Ruben. Though the people could be a bit more rude. He walked on, knowing he shouldn't take too long. He saw the Alchemist's shop at the end of the street.

_When they reached the centre of the core they were met by the overly powerful King of Nasods. A humongous robotic monster that was the leader of all Nasods. The King of Nasods was protected by a powerful barrier powered by four small generators, the El Energy Extractors. Defeating him wasn't their mission however. But they had no choice but to fight. He was the final obstacle to rescue the queen, Lady Eve. In a single fell swoop, the King of Nasods eliminated almost all remaining mercenaries. Only Raven, Seris and another six mercenaries were left. Raven ordered everyone to split up in pairs of two. Each pair would have to destroy one of the El Energy Extractors. Somehow managing to evade the King of Nasods' barrage of attacks the group of eight that was left managed to destroy the El Energy Extractors. But just as they did, the King of Nasods unleashed a powerful attack, sending lightning strikes down upon them. Another five mercenaries were killed. Leaving only Raven, Seris and one more mercenary._

"Hello? Echo?" Raven asked as he entered the Alchemist's shop.  
"Oh hello, what brings you to Echo?" A young girl with tanned skin and white hair asked, a lollipop stuck in her mouth. She wore goggles on her forehead.  
"I am looking for some cold medicine." Raven said. Echo pouted.  
"Nobody ever buys Echo's candy." She muttered. Raven laughed.  
"Is the candy any good?" He asked.  
"Only the best ever!" Echo said, sounding almost offended.  
"In that case I'll also take some candy." Raven smiled.

_The three survivors were severely injured. The barrier that protected the King of Nasods' core was down. In a desperate attempt to stop it once and for all, the three attacked the core, managing to heavily damage it. The King of Nasods was not down yet however. He charged up a giant energy beam and fired.  
"Raven!" Seris yelled as she pushed Raven out of reach of the energy beam. As Raven fell backwards he saw the beam hit Seris, evaporating her before his very eyes.  
"Seris! No!"  
"Captain sir, it is now or never! We must strike now and destroy the core!" The final remaining mercenary shouted as he tried to help Raven get up. Seeing Seris die before his eyes had mentally broken Raven. He could only stare at the King of Nasods blankly.  
"Sir!" The mercenary shouted desperately. The King of Nasods attacked again, swinging his fist straight at Raven and the other mercenary. The other mercenary managed to push Raven away but was too late to get away himself. His lower body got crushed by the King of Nasods' fist.  
"Sir, don't let our deaths be in vain." The mercenary gurgled as he coughed up blood. "Destroy that monster. And complete the mission!" After saying that, the mercenary dropped his head on the floor and stopped breathing._

Back on his way to the villa Raven took a candy from the bag he bought from Echo. He put it in his mouth. It was a chewy kind of gum and quite tasty. "_I'm sure Rena will like this when she feels better. I should give a few to Aisha as well to thank her for looking after Rena today._" Raven stared at the sky. It had stopped snowing but it was still cloudy and the wind had increased in strength. Raven started to feel cold so he started jogging to get back faster and stay warm.

_Raven sat on the ground, before him the King of Nasods stood menacingly. Between them was the core. The King of Nasods prepared himself to strike again. Raven saw Seris evaporate before his eyes in his mind again. He heard the other mercenary's words echo through his head. His goal became clear. He had a mission to fulfil. He grabbed his sword tight in hand and stood up. He clenched his sword in his right hand tightly and ran straight for the core. The King of Nasods fired a single small beam which severed Raven's left arm but this did not slow Raven down. If anything, it only made him run faster. He reached the core and drove his sword into it. The core exploded in a single strong explosion, sending Raven flying backwards. Raven lay on his back. The smoke from the explosion cleared and he saw the King of Nasods was still alive.  
"No, it can't be! Why won't you die!?" Raven yelled as he felt his consciousness starting to fade. He had lost too much blood and was still bleeding profusely from where his left arm previously connected to his shoulder. The King of Nasods brought his fist above Raven.  
"Is this… the end?" Raven muttered._

Raven arrived back at the villa and first brought the medicine to Rena. He also put the bag of candies on the table. Rena and Aisha thanked him and Raven went to the kitchen to grab himself a glass of water. "_Right, I should put some clean sheets on Rena's bed. I'm sure that'll help speed up her recovery. It's no good sleeping in a dirty bed when you're ill._" Raven walked to Rena's bedroom. While he was replacing the sheets his eyes fell on the painting of the mysterious woman. "_I don't know why... But I have the feeling I've seen her before. No, that's ridiculous._" Raven shook his head and brought the dirty sheets to the washing room.

_Raven knew at that moment that his life was over. All of his comrades, dead. The love of his life, dead. And now soon he would die as well. His vision became blurry and his ears started ringing due to blood loss. Suddenly a mysterious figure appeared before him. He couldn't quite make it out but it seemed human or at least humanoid. The figure also had what appeared to be two small drones hovering beside it. The King of Nasods swung his fist down. The mysterious figure brought its hands upwards. The two drones that were floating beside the figure changed shapes into what resembled spears. The spears flew upward, destroying the fists of the King like it was nothing. The two drones changed back and settled beside the figure again. This time the mysterious figure materialized a bigger spear out of thin air and hurled it at the King of Nasods' main body. The spear pierced right through the middle of the King's body, which exploded in a brilliant light. As the explosion subsided, Raven finally completely lost consciousness._

Aisha had gone home and Raven tried to get Rena to eat something, so he had prepared some rice with a small serving of vegetables and a little bit of meat. Nothing too hard to digest. Rena had a bit of a hard time eating but it did taste well.  
"Mmm… it's very tasty Raven." She muttered in between bites.  
"At least that's a good sign of your recovery. Once food starts being tasty again you'll be healthy before you know it."

_Raven awoke in a bed in a room he didn't recognize. A nurse told him he was in a hospital. It was a miracle Raven was still alive. He had several severe injuries, one of which was the fact his arm was cut off. He had also sustained severe mental injuries. He lost everyone he had held dear. He could only vaguely remember what had exactly happened. He never spoke of it with anyone though. He claimed he didn't remember anything. It made things easier. Saved him from having to do a whole lot of explaining. The nurses couldn't tell him how he made it to the hospital. They simply found him just outside a nearby town. A few days after he was initially hospitalized he heard the news that the war against the corrupted Nasods was over since the King of Nasods had been destroyed. There was not a sign of the queen, Lady Eve though. People assumed she'd been destroyed when the King exploded. It took almost a year for Raven to heal. A few weeks before Raven was to be released from the hospital a package arrived. The package contained a strange-looking mechanical arm and a letter. In the letter he was offered a job. Having nowhere else to go Raven asked the doctors if they could hook him up with the arm that was sent to him. After he was released from the hospital, Raven went to his new home and job. With his new arm in place, he was going to start a new life. But he wouldn't forget. He told himself he should not ever forget his diseased comrades. And he should definitely never forget the woman he once loved. He would live on. If only to preserve their memory._

Raven was sleeping soundly in the comfort of his bed. He had just brought Rena to bed and had made a final round to make sure that everything in the villa was in order before he'd turned in himself. The door to his room opened slowly and a certain mysterious, silver-haired and golden-eyed woman sneaked into Raven's bedroom. She walked up to Raven's bed and stared at the content expression he had on his face.  
"I'm glad you were sent to rescue me that day. I'm sorry I had to swap our roles. However, I am glad I could save you. I wouldn't have been able to if it hadn't been for _her_…" She whispered. "Sleep well Raven, captain of the Crow Mercenaries. And take good care of her until the time of the truth arrives."

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_**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's been my favourite chapter to write so far (whether that's because Raven is my favourite character or because of the fact this chapter is so different I'll leave up to you). I wanted to start giving some insight into the events that led up to the beginning of the story. I hope I managed to give you some clarity as well as raise some more questions.  
And yes, I used Silvermoon as a last name for Eve again. I just really like it.  
Ideas? Suggestions? Criticism? Corrections? Leave a review. I read and consider them all. Case in point: If it weren't for a certain review, this chapter wouldn't have existed.**_

_**May we meet again, fare thee well.**_


	8. The Joys of Winter Weather

_**Most of this chapter was written while listening to (mainly Symphonic) Metal. Is that weird when you look at the contents of the chapter itself? I guess it's safe to say the contents of this chapter (or the story in general for that matter) don't really fit the Metal music genre. This chapter was actually also written before chapter seven. I was thinking about what was going to be chapter eight and when I decided I wanted to write Raven's back-story, I figured that the fact that Rena was sick was a nice way to make a Raven-centric chapter. So I started writing a new chapter between this one and chapter six, which became the current chapter seven.  
Confused yet? Sorry, don't know how to explain it more properly. I suppose you don't really have to understand. Just enjoy the story.**_

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**Chapter 8: The Joys of Winter Weather**

* * *

Rena recovered quickly from her cold. Within a few days her fever was gone and she felt a lot better. During the period of her illness it had been snowing a lot. There lay quite a thick layer of snow pretty much everywhere. The first things Raven had to do every morning was clear the path from the front door to the front gate. It had also been freezing. A nice layer of ice had started covering Lake Noahs. It wouldn't be much longer before it'd be possible to go ice skating.

Rena sat in the kitchen as Raven was preparing breakfast.  
"It sure looks beautiful." She said as she looked outside. "Everything looks so white and pure. I'm starting to feel inspired!"  
"If you feel well enough we could make it so you can paint outside." Raven said. "Lake Noahs will be quite the sight to behold once it's completely frozen over. It will also be great to see the children of the village go ice skating."  
"Ice skating huh? Now there's something I'd like to give a try." Rena said dreamily.  
"What? Ice skating?" Raven asked as he put breakfast on the table.  
"Yes, it sounds like fun. I've never done it before due to my health." Rena sounded somewhat down saying this. Raven gave her a gentle smile.  
"Then once the ice is thick enough we'll give it a go."  
"Really?" Rena instantly sounded happier.  
"It shouldn't be too long. It started freezing quite early this year." Raven let out a short chuckle. "Between that and the long summer it's almost like we've had no autumn this year."

That afternoon Rena went to visit Aisha to thank her for visiting when she was ill. Rena brought a painting with her as a gift. It was a painting of the first thing that Aisha had shown Rena in the forest. The ancient Phoru in the clearing in the forest during sunset. Aisha had commented multiple times that it was her favourite painting that Rena had made. Rena had seen her staring at it quite often as well. She figured it'd make the perfect 'thank you'-gift.

Rena walked up to Aisha's house. Aisha lived close to the centre of the village. Her house was neither big nor small. It didn't particularly stand out from the other houses but something about it made it feel very unique to Rena. "_Aisha's house seems to have this aura of… magic about it._" Rena was a bit excited when she walked up to the front door. She rang the doorbell. Not too long after, Aisha answered the door.  
"Rena!" Aisha was surprised. "You're feeling better?"  
"Sure am! Can I come in?"  
"Of course! Right this way." Aisha led Rena into the living room. The living room contained a couch just big enough for three people and two chairs that were all centred around a rectangular table. The walls were white with the occasional purple flower painted on, breaking up the monotony.  
"Looks cosy." Rena commented.  
"Thanks." Aisha smiled. "Would you like a cup of tea?"  
"Yes please!"

Aisha had served the tea and she and Rena took a sip.  
"That's some really good tea." Rena said.  
"Glad you like it."  
"Anyway, the reason I came over was because I'd like to thank you for visiting me while I was sick."  
"No problem, that's what friends do." Aisha's eyes fell on the rather big, flat package that Rena had brought with her. "So, is that…?"  
"Yes." Rena smiled. "This is a little 'thank you'-gift for you." Rena picked up the package and handed it to Aisha. Aisha accepted the package and started to carefully unpack it. Her eyes sparkled with excitement when she saw what was inside.  
"For real!?" Aisha couldn't believe it.  
"You are very fond of this painting aren't you? So I thought there wouldn't be a more perfect something I could give you as a 'thank you'-gift." Aisha set the painting on the floor and pulled Rena into a tight embrace.  
"Thanks so much! It's perfect!" She yelled overjoyed.

After they'd hung the painting on the wall opposite the couch Rena and Aisha sat down to finish their tea.  
"Hey Rena, want to go outside to play in the snow? We can make a snowman or something." Aisha asked enthusiastically. Rena couldn't help herself and had to snicker. "_I guess she's still just a young girl after all._"  
"Sure, sounds like fun!" She answered.

Rena spent the rest of the afternoon playing with Aisha. They made a snowman in Aisha's front garden, as well as some snow angels and they even had a snowball fight with some of the village children that lived nearby. The kids tugged at Rena from all directions, asking her question after question. They asked her about where she lived.  
"For real? You live in the villa outside Ruben? That's so cool!"  
They asked her about her ears.  
"So you're a real elf? Wow! I've never seen an elf before!"  
The kids' mothers were watching their children play with Rena.  
"She's that elven girl that came to live in the villa right?"  
"Yes, from what I've heard she's a real sweetheart."  
"The children sure seem to like her. And she seems to like them a lot as well."  
"It also looks like she became a good friend of Aisha's as well."

Time flew by and before they knew it Rena and Aisha were alone again as all of the children were called back home for dinner.  
"Hey Rena, want to eat dinner at my house?" Aisha asked. "I can cook quite well."  
"Oh I'm sorry Aisha." Rena answered. "But if I don't come home for dinner I'm sure Raven will get worried. Another time okay?"  
"You promise?" Aisha pouted.  
"Of course I promise!" Rena smiled.

On her way home Rena took the time to think:  
"_Aisha's such a good girl. Strong, mature, energetic. But she still retains that childish charm. Especially when she asked me to play with her in the snow. She looked so cute. I'm glad I came to live here. Otherwise I would've never met her. Not to mention Raven. He is so reliable, strong and a beacon of calmness. He looks after me, not so much as an employee but more like an older brother. I guess I should thank him too. In fact, I just remembered, I still owe him a painting for helping me with the atelier! I'll have to think of something for that. The other villagers are very nice too. I think they've also gotten a bit more used to me being an elf. I no longer get these strange stares. Though they do still stare at Raven whenever I'm with him. I guess some things really are just hard to get used to._"  
Then Rena's thoughts wandered where she had rather they didn't.  
"_And then there's… _her_. I still don't know what to make of that woman. I suppose there's no use worrying about it. She doesn't seem to be a danger. If anything, quite the opposite. Maybe someday she'll tell me what her deal is._"

The walk home didn't take long. Raven had already prepared dinner.  
"Ah hello Rena, how was your day?" He asked. Rena started to tell him full enthusiasm.  
"Aisha and I had so much fun!" Rena told Raven of the snowman, the snow angels and the snowball fight she'd had with the children in Aisha's neighbourhood. Raven listened to Rena speak with a smile on his face. Visibly glad Rena enjoyed herself so much.  
"Sounds to me like you had a great time." He said.  
"I suppose it's just that it was all so new to me. I've never been able to go outside this much in winter due to my health. But, ever since I came to live here I've felt so much better. Especially today at Aisha's house."

That night Rena once again had trouble getting to sleep. But this time this wasn't caused by questions about the mysterious woman plaguing her. Rather, she was excited for tomorrow. Raven had told her that he'd done some preparing to allow Rena to do some painting on location. Rena really wanted to go over to Aisha's house to make a painting of it with the snowman standing in the front garden. Of course, she'd have to ask Aisha permission to paint her house but she was sure Aisha wouldn't mind. She had also put some thought in how to keep her promise to Raven that she'd make a painting for him. "_But that'll have to wait until Lake Noahs is completely frozen._"

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_**Such a light-hearted chapter after the previous one being a bit more... intense?  
I would appreciate it if you could share any ideas, suggestions or criticism you have by leaving a review. You can of course also do the whole follow or favourite thing if you want. You know what? I'll go crazy here and suggest you share this story with your friends. That is, if you think they'll like it. No need pointing someone in the direction of something you know they won't like.**_

_**May we meet again, fare thee well.**_


	9. A Very Special Place

_**I hate the cold. I hate it with a burning passion. A passion that, despite its heat never manages to warm me up. It's too bad really. I suppose I'll just have to look for things that may keep me warm.**_

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**Chapter 9: A Very Special Place**

* * *

That morning Rena stood up earlier than Raven. She'd purposefully set her alarm-clock early. It was cold in the villa. Usually Raven made sure to turn the heating on before Rena would get out of bed. Rena snuck into the kitchen and got to work on a little surprise for Raven. She knew she had to hurry as Raven would get up in about thirty minutes. Normally Raven's punctuality would get on Rena's nerve but today she was very glad Raven was so punctual.

After about twenty minutes of hard work Rena was done. Carrying a tray, she went to Raven's room. She carefully opened the door so as not to disturb Raven. Walking up to his bed she saw his sleeping face. Her face started to feel warm as she started to blush. "_I've never seen him like this before. He looks so peaceful and content._" Rena quickly grabbed Raven's alarm-clock and pulled out the batteries. "_I want to enjoy this for a bit longer. I won't let you ruin this Mr alarm-clock!_" She thought.

Rena didn't know how much time had passed while she just sat there staring at Raven's sleeping face. All she knew was that the way Raven looked filled her with tender feelings. Rena didn't notice the sun had already started to rise. The sky was completely clear that day. The sunlight reflected off of the snow that covered everything. Everything outside looked like it was shining with a bright white light. A few rays of sunlight managed to find their way through the window and hit Raven's face, finally disturbing his sleep.

Raven groaned as he opened his eyes. It took him a second to recognize the smiling face that was looking at him.  
"Miss Rena?" The face he was looking at turned from a smile to a pout and he laughed. Raven looked out the window and saw the sun had already started to rise.  
"What time is it? I overslept? My sincerest apologies!" Raven said, slightly panicked.  
"Well, no." Rena tried to explain. "I wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed… But when I saw you sleeping you looked so peaceful so I took the batteries from your alarm-clock." Rena felt embarrassed and blushed heavily while avoiding eye-contact with Raven.  
"Breakfast in bed?" Raven asked.  
"Oh! Right!" Rena grabbed the tray she'd brought with her while Raven sat up in his bed. Rena placed the tray on Raven's lap.  
"I'm sure it's all cold by now." Rena said in an apologetic tone. Raven looked at the tray in front of him. A piece of toast, a baked egg and a cup of coffee adorned the tray. Raven took the cup of coffee in his left hand. The vents on his arm opened and the palm of his claw began to glow, heating the cup. Raven took a sip of the coffee.  
"Ah… That's some good coffee." He sighed. He looked at Rena and saw she was shivering. "Oh, the heating hasn't been turned on yet?"  
"N-no." Rena continued to shiver. Raven scooted a bit to the right, creating some free space. He patted the free spot with his claw, inviting Rena to come sit next to him. Rena blushed and hesitated. But the cold proved too much for Rena to withstand and she didn't want to fall ill again. She climbed onto the bed and sat down next to Raven. She stuck her legs under the blanket. It was warm under the blanket. Rena felt Raven's warmth as they sat right next to each other. Rena's upper body was still cold and she started shivering again. She felt it'd be weird to lie down and crawl under the blankets while Raven still sat upright. Not to mention she'd be making herself comfortable in_ his_ bed.  
"Still cold? Here, let me help you." Raven swung his metal arm around Rena. Rena braced herself as she expected the metal to feel very cold. But to her surprise the arm felt comfortably warm. A warm flow of air started to flow from the vents on Raven's arm, wrapping Rena in a blanket of warm air. Rena stopped shivering. Rena looked at Raven, noticing he had had his torso above the blankets the entire time and he only wore a thin shirt.  
"Aren't you cold Raven?" She asked. Raven took a sip of his coffee.  
"This coffee is more than enough to keep me warm. You should know miss Rena; you made it for me after all." Was Raven's response. Rena smiled happily.

As the two of them sat there in Raven's bed, Rena's thoughts began to wander. "_I am currently in Raven's embrace in his bed?_" She blushed. "_Gah! What am I thinking? He's just making me warm… That sounds even worse!_" Rena looked at Raven as he took another sip of his coffee, followed by him taking a bite from the toast. Since he was using his arm to keep Rena warm he couldn't use it to reheat the toast of the egg. "_I wouldn't mind at all if he would embrace me with both arms._" Rena began to fantasize. "_Then he'd pin me down on the bed, start kissing me and-_"  
"Are you hungry?"  
"Huh!?" Rena was suddenly pulled back into reality.  
"I asked if you were hungry." Raven repeated. "It's almost noon." Rena's stomach growled all of a sudden. Raven laughed. "I will turn on the heating and prepare something to eat." Raven said as he got out of bed. Rena quickly hid her eyes. Raven got dressed.  
"Would you like for me to bring you your clothes?" He asked.  
"U-uh, yes please." Rena answered.

Rena and Raven ate in silence. Rena couldn't get over it. Why did she start fantasizing about Raven doing such things to her? He wasn't the type of person to do such things. Was she in love with him? Or maybe it was just a bit of a spur of the moment thing? All Rena knew was that thinking back, it felt wrong. She didn't understand why. It just did.

That afternoon Rena and Raven went to Aisha's house together. Raven helped Rena carry her painting easel as well as a number of tubes of paint and a few paintbrushes. As they walked through the village people stared at them. Not just because they were the elf and the guy with the arm, but also because of the stuff they were carrying. Paying the stares no mind, they soon arrived at Aisha's house. Rena rang the doorbell and Aisha answered the door.  
"Oh, hey there Rena!" Aisha greeted before she cocked her head to the side to see Raven standing behind Rena, holding all of the painting supplies. "What's with the stuff you got there?"  
"Hey Aisha, I was wondering if you'd let me make a painting of your house." Rena smiled her most endearing smile. Aisha was somewhat bewildered by this, in her eyes, strange request.  
"Uh, sure. But why my house? It's not like it's special or anything." Rena shook her head.  
"Oh but it's very special." She said. "I mean, it's where one of my best friends lives isn't it? So to me, it's a very special place." Aisha felt embarrassed now and scratched herself on the back of her head.

As Rena was painting Aisha and Raven looked over her shoulder intently and curiously. A number of villagers had also gathered and looked at Rena paint. The painting started to turn out nicely and as Rena took a break, drinking some tea Aisha had made, chief Hagus walked up to the group of three.  
"I didn't know we had an artist living nearby." He laughed in a friendly manner. Rena blushed.  
"I'm not _that_ good." She said modestly.  
"Oh but I disagree young lady. I think you are _that_ good." Hagus smiled a warm smile.  
"T-thank you." Rena said, still a bit embarrassed.  
"I hope it'll turn out well. Have a nice day." Hagus said and he went on his way.

Suddenly the group of children Rena and Aisha had played with the other day came running up to the three.  
"Hey, it's the elven lady!" A young boy shouted.  
"What're you doing?" A young girl asked curiously.  
"Is that guy your boyfriend?" Another young girl asked, pointing at Raven. "He looks scary." Rena smiled at the children.  
"I'm making a painting of Aisha's house. And no, this is not my boyfriend. This is Raven." Rena leaned closer to the children and whispered: "He may look scary, but he's a really nice guy." The children looked at Rena in bewilderment and the girl that had asked whether Raven was Rena's girlfriend walked up to Raven and said:  
"I'm sorry for calling you scary…" Raven smiled and patted the girl on the head with his human hand.  
"Don't worry about it." He said. One of the boys walked up to Raven and stared at Raven's mechanical arm. He then scanned Raven entirely.  
"You look strong. Are you a warrior?" The boy asked.  
"I used to be." Raven answered.  
"What happened?" The boy asked innocently. Raven's face turned serious and it fell quiet. Rena, Aisha and the children looked at Raven expectantly.  
"That's a story, I'd rather not tell." Raven sighed.  
"Oh." The boy said, sounding a little disappointed.

After the children had run off to play somewhere, Rena wanted to continue painting. As she continued it became clear that she'd started to become quite cold.  
"Hey Rena, maybe you should go inside and warm up a bit." Aisha said concerned. Raven nodded in agreement.  
"But I am inspired now!" Rena protested. "If I stop now it won't turn out as well as it could." Aisha walked up to Raven and whispered something in his ear. Raven smiled and nodded. He positioned himself to the left of Rena and Aisha positioned herself to the right of Rena. Aisha whipped out her wand and Raven brought the palm of his claw up to Rena. Rena was too busy with her painting to notice. Aisha muttered a short spell and warmth started to radiate from her wand. Raven heated up his arm and warmth also started radiating from the palm of his claw. Rena suddenly noticed the warmth around her. She looked at Aisha and Raven in surprise.  
"Now _this_, is a special place." She smiled.

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_**I wrote that first bit of this chapter while I was waiting for the bus at a bus stop. It was cold, raining, wind was blowing hard and I felt terrible in general. What better moment to write about warmth and beds? There is no better moment I tell thee!**_

_**A bit of not-too-great news: I'm running low on ideas. So now, more than ever, do I appreciate getting ideas from you fine ladies and gentlemen. You can leave ideas in a review or send them to me in a PM. It's not that I don't know where to go with the story mind you, it's more that I want to have some more events lead up to the finale as I feel it's still way too early to start working on the finale.  
**_

_**In any case. Do you have any ideas, suggestions, criticism or praise? Or maybe you noticed some typos or something? Feel free to leave a review telling me.**_

_**May we meet again, fare thee well.**_


	10. The Image of a Loved One

_**If I remember correctly, I told you before last chapter how much I hate the cold. Well, there's more of it in this chapter. Woohoo!  
**__**A big 'Thank you'**__**goes **__**to **__**Jetstream Girge**__** for giving me the general idea that turned into this chapter. Hope you enjoy!**_

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**Chapter 10: The Image of a Loved One**

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It was cold. Temperatures had reached a new record low. Lake Noahs had completely frozen over. A thick layer of ice covered it completely. Rena had been looking forward to going ice skating but alas, it had gotten so cold that day that going outside simply wasn't an option. Especially not for Rena due to the situation regarding her health.

Rena sat in the living room. The villa's heating had broken down so she sat in front of the burning fireplace wrapped in a blanket. She was bored out of her mind. Aisha couldn't come over because of the cold and Raven was busy trying to repair the broken heating. How he was able to work with these temperatures Rena didn't understand but she was grateful for it. Rena also couldn't work on her paintings since it was incredibly cold in the atelier. As it was everywhere else in the villa except for the living room because of the fireplace.

Rena shivered. Despite her best efforts to keep warm, she was still cold.  
"It could've been a lot worse I suppose." She sighed, closing her eyes to focus on the warmth radiating from the fire in the fireplace. "_I hope Raven can fix the heating soon. I don't want to turn into an ice elf._" Focussing on the fireplace's warmth seemed to help as Rena stopped shivering. Suddenly the door to the hallway opened, allowing cold air from the hallway to flow into the living room, causing Rena to start shivering again. It was Raven whom entered the room.

"A-ah, R-Raven." Rena greeted while shivering.  
"Miss Rena. Um," Raven scratched the back of his head as if thinking about how to say what he was about to say. "I have good news. And I have bad news." He said.  
"G-good news f-f-first please!" Rena said.  
"The good news is that I've managed to repair _part_ of the heating. The bad news is that I've _only_ repaired _part_ of the heating."  
"W-which p-part did you f-fix?" Rena asked, wanting to know what Raven meant.  
"Since the manager's house has a partially separated system I could get the heating to work there again. But the main villa's system is too badly damaged due to the pipes freezing. Which means that for now, the manager's house is the only place with heating." Raven explained. "To fix the main villa's heating we need to replace those pipes. Which means I need to go to Elder to buy some. If I go now I could easily get everything fixed tomorrow."  
"I see." Rena said. "I guess we'll have to have a sleepover then." Rena laughed.  
"It seems that way." Raven laughed as well. "In any case. It should be nice and warm in my room soon. You can go there if you like. I'll be going now to Elder."  
"Alright Raven. Take care."  
"As always."

It had gotten nice and warm in Raven's room. Rena was lying on the worn-out couch that was in Raven's room. Despite the state the couch was in, it was a comfortable couch. Rena had grabbed a book from the recreation room before she'd come here and she was reading it. After she'd finished the first two chapters she put the book away and looked around. Raven's room was quite boring. No pictures or anything. Only the most minimal necessities. The only thing one could argue was superfluous was the couch.

"Raven, don't you have anything that holds any memories for you?" Rena thought out loud. "_There's got to be something, somewhere in this room. Something precious or important. There has to be, right?_" Rena suddenly got very curious and decided that if there was something, _she_ would find it.

The first place Rena started looking was the closet. It hung full of men's clothing, all neatly stored and ready to wear. Beneath the clothing stood a number of shoeboxes but most of them were empty. The ones that weren't contained shoes, as was to be expected. On the shelf above the clothes there seemed to be nothing but on closer inspection there appeared to be another shoebox tucked away in the back. Rena reached as far as she could and managed to _just_ grab the shoebox.

Rena felt very nervous for some reason as she held the shoebox. She slowly opened it and took a peek inside.  
"A key?" Rena thought out loud again as she took a small, well-crafted brass key from the shoebox. Wondering what it was the key to, she continued looking through Raven's room. Next was the nightstand next to Raven's bed.

It was a small nightstand made from a very light, almost sand-coloured wood. It wasn't overly fancy in decoration but it did look old and valuable. The modern-looking alarm-clock that stood on top of it looked quite out of place. Rena opened the drawer on the front of the nightstand. Inside, she found a small, dark wooden box with a brass lock on it. "_Is this what the key is for?_" Rena wondered as she took the key and brought it up to the lock on the wooden box. Rena stuck the key in the lock and turned it. The lock made a '_clunk_'-sound as it unlocked. Rena felt like her heart was beating in her throat as she sat there holding the now unlocked wooden box. _Was it okay if she opened it? It was something Raven probably kept locked away for a reason after all. It wasn't her place to just rummage through his stuff._ Curiosity got the best of her however and she slowly opened the box's lid. The hinge creaked as the lid opened.

The inside of the box was decorated with blue satin to keep the contents from being damaged. As for the contents themselves, the box contained a small golden heart-shaped locked. On the front of the heart the initials 'R' and 'S' were engraved. "_That 'R' has to stand for 'Raven'._" Rena thought. "_But who does the 'S' stand for?_" Rena took the locket from the box and looked at it. The locket looked brilliant. Like it was polished every single day. Rena opened the locket and was shocked by what was inside.

The locket contained two pictures. On the left side was a picture of Raven. Judging by how the shoulders on the picture looked, it was taken before Raven had gained his mechanical arm. Raven's hair looked shorter and didn't have the streak of red running through it. The scars on his face were exactly the same though. Raven had a soft, smiling expression on his face in the picture.

The other picture was what had shocked Rena. It was a picture of a woman with long, blonde hair. Green eyes and a gentle expression. "_Who? How?_" Rena was panicking slightly. "_She looks just like me!_" Rena was right. The woman in the picture looked almost exactly like her. The only difference was the fact that the woman in the picture was human and not an elf. As such the most notable difference between the woman in the picture and Rena were their ears.

Suddenly Rena heard the door slam behind her. She turned around and faced Raven.  
"I am back miss-" Raven stopped talking as soon as he saw what Rena was holding in her hands. He quickly lunged forward and snatched the locket from Rena's hands. He held the locket in his normal hand and clenched it tightly. His facial expression made it clear he was furious. His eyes looked like they had become red instead of being their normal golden-yellow colour. Raven was breathing heavily, looking like an angry bull that was about to attack its target. Quickly putting the locket into his pocket Raven started shouting.  
"What is the meaning of this!?" He yelled as he stared Rena in the eyes. Rena cowered in fear. She'd never seen this side of Raven. Afraid Raven might attack her she apologised profusely. Tears started running down her face. Realizing he was making Rena cry, Raven calmed down a little.  
"Please excuse me." Raven said, sounding more stern than apologetic. He turned towards the door and left the room. Rena was still crying.

Rena was lying on Raven's couch again. She was curled up into a ball and felt horrible. _How could she? How could she have done such a thing to Raven? Going through his personal belongings and probably touching upon some painful memories._ She had stopped crying but her face still showed clear signs of tears. She aimed her gaze at Raven's alarm-clock. It was dinnertime but Rena wasn't hungry. She sighed. "_How can I possibly make it up to Raven?_" Was her main concern. She hated having fights with people. Especially people she saw every day. She hated the awkwardness of it. The fear of the other person becoming angry again whenever she would say something. Rena started to feel hungry now. Hungry and tired, she fell asleep.

_In her dreams, Rena was walking through an endless black tunnel. At the end she saw a light with Raven standing in front of it, facing away from her. She tried to reach Raven but no matter how hard she ran, she didn't get closer._

Rena woke up violently. As if she awoke from a horrible nightmare.  
"Did you have a bad dream?" She heard a familiar male voice ask. Rena nervously turned to Raven. She didn't dare speak. Raven awkwardly sat on the side of his bed, twiddling his thumbs. It was quiet for only a few minutes. But it felt like hours to Rena.

"Her name was Seris." Raven spoke out of nowhere. Rena looked at Raven with curiosity in her eyes. "She was my fiancée. I believe I told you before I started working here I was a mercenary." Rena nodded slowly. "Seris was the love of my life. She was friendly, kind, gentle, funny, strong, smart and beautiful. In short, she was perfect. She stood by my side as I was leading my crew of mercenaries from battle to battle. One day, during a certain mission she…" Raven paused. He had a pained look on his face. "She saved my life. And, in doing so, she lost her own. I watched her get vaporized before my eyes." Tears had started rolling down Raven's face. Rena felt tears welling up as well. "That day, everyone I cared for died. My comrades, Seris, _everyone_." Raven clenched his mechanical fist as he said 'everyone'. "I was the only one to survive. I was found by the staff of a hospital somewhere. I still don't know how I got to that hospital. I believe someone saved me. I have no idea who. Anyway, I had lost my left arm and had several other severe injuries. I was hospitalized for a full year. It was in the hospital that I got my new arm and once I was released from the hospital I came to work here."

Rena was crying now. She had gotten up from the couch and was hugging Raven tightly.  
"I am so sorry." She cried. The two of them sat there until Rena calmed down. Rena looked at Raven with sad eyes. Raven smiled gently.  
"I have never told anyone this before." He said. "Thank you for listening." Rena nodded.  
"Now, let's go eat something. It's late and we haven't had dinner." Raven smiled. "The heating still doesn't work so we'll have to eat in here."  
"Yes, I understand." Rena said quietly, almost whispering.

The next day Rena locked herself in the atelier despite the cold. While Raven was working on repairing the heating for the whole day, Rena was working feverishly in the atelier. As it ran towards dinnertime Raven finished up the heating for the villa. Rena had prepared dinner. During dinner Raven told Rena of the fact he had repaired the villa's heating. Rena was happy to hear it. When dinner was finished, Rena asked Raven to come with her. She led him to the door to his room.

"Are you prepared?" Rena asked Raven with a smile on her face.  
"Whatever for?" Raven asked with a curious look on his face.  
"This!" Rena said as she swung the door open. She almost squealed when she saw the look of surprise on Raven's face. Above Raven's bed hung a painting of a blonde, green-eyed human female. Raven stared at Rena in disbelief. Rena blushed a little.

"I felt really bad for what I had done. And I still owed you a painting for when you helped me with the atelier." She said softly as her blush intensified. Raven walked up to the painting and stared at it.  
"Seris…" He whispered before he turned to Rena.

"Thank you, Rena."

* * *

**_And now I will once again reply to some reviews. I don't do this often but I got a whole four reviews for the last chapter so I thought it'd only be appropriate._**

**_jayjayplaya987:_****_ Every day I go to college I have to take a bus to get to the train station and then a train to get to college. Then I have to do the same in reverse order to go home. So on every day that I go to college I take two buses and two trains._**

**_Jetstrea_****_m_****_ Girge:_****_ Glad you like the story Sam, thanks again for the idea. I hope this chapter did not disappoint._**

**_Icebella:_****_ Thanks for pointing out that mistake, I don't know how I let that one get past me. Also, believe it or not but your ideas got me thinking and helped me think up something I could do for a future chapter. So keep an eye out for that._**

**_frederickoliver:_****_ I know, I've been neglecting Eve a bit these past few chapters. I'll have to fix that since s_****_he's very important to the story_**. She's referenced in the story title for crying out loud. Next chapter will have more Eve. I promise.

_**If you have any ideas, suggestions, corrections, criticism or anything else, feel free to share it with me through a review. If you wish to remain anonymous you can of course always send me a PM instead.**_

_**May we meet again, fare thee well.**_


	11. Melting the Ice

_**Ah. Welcome back dear reader,**_

_**Like I promised at the end of last chapter, this chapter has more Eve. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Also, this will be the last winter-themed chapter. At least for now. I feel like it's about time for spring to show it's beautiful graceful face within this story.**_

* * *

**Chapter 11: Melting the Ice**

* * *

It was late in the evening. Rena had just crawled into bed. She was smiling, happily thinking back to Raven's surprised expression when she revealed the painting of Seris she'd made for him. Content with what she'd done that day, she went to sleep.

Rena woke up when she felt a presence right next to her. However, she kept her eyes shut as she knew this presence. She felt a soft and smooth hand caress her cheek. The hand was warm. "_She's lying in my bed next to me?_" Rena thought.  
"I see you've learned more about Raven." A feminine voice whispered from right next to Rena. The voice sounded gentle and caring despite speaking in a monotonous tone. Rena felt a shift in weight beside her as the mysterious woman from before got up a bit and brought her head closer to Rena's. She supported herself with her arm by placing her hand behind Rena. Making her arm arch over Rena. Rena felt the woman's breath on her ear.  
"You're awake aren't you?" The woman whispered in Rena's ear. This startled Rena. She shot up and quickly crawled backward in panic, causing her to fall out of her bed. As she fell she hit the nightstand with the back of her head.

As Rena sat on the floor, rubbing the painful bump on the back of her head as the mysterious woman crawled over to the side of the bed. There she lay on her stomach, supporting her head in the palms of her hands. Looking at Rena an amused smile appeared on the woman's usually emotionless face. Rena looked up at the silver-haired woman and was instantly reminded of how beautiful she was in person. The moonlight seeping in from the window fell of the woman's head, making it look like she was a living ice statue. Rena couldn't keep her eyes off her.

The mysterious woman stepped out of Rena's bed and walked up to the painting Rena had made of her. She stroked the painting's frame with her fingertips.  
"You've always had real talent." She spoke softly. Rena continued to stare at her, looking at the wavy silver hair that seemed to flow down the woman's shoulders, reaching to just above her hips. "_Her hair looks so smooth. And her waist and hips are perfect. Wait! What am I thinking? I still don't even know anything about her!_" Rena shook her head and took a deep breath, gathering courage.  
"Just who are you?" Rena asked in a whisper, just loud enough for the woman to be able to hear her.  
"Not yet." The woman said as she turned to face Rena, her face back to her usual emotionless expression. "However," she continued. "You know who I am. You know my name. Don't you Rena?"

Rena felt cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. "_I do? I do! Don't I? But, but, how?_" Rena panicked as she didn't understand. The world seemed to spin before her eyes. "_Wh__y do I know her name?_" She thought as the world before her eyes became fuzzy.  
"Eve…" Rena whispered as she stared at the woman's expressionless face which had also been reduced to a blur.

Then, she lost consciousness.

Rena woke up violently. Sitting up in her bed instantaneously. Her eyes were wide open. She looked around. "_Didn't I pass out on the floor?_" Rena thought to herself. She groaned as she felt the bump on the back of her head throbbing painfully. Rena closed her eyes and sighed. "_I must've been put back into bed by E-_" Rena opened her eyes as she caught herself thinking of the mysterious woman's name as if she'd always known it.  
"Eve…" She whispered the name. Rena was sure of it. The mysterious woman was called Eve. "_Why do I know her name? It doesn't make sense. I never met her before I came here and she never said her name to me._" Rena looked at the painting of Eve that hung opposite her bed on the wall. "_She's so beautiful. Almost like an angel._"

Rena was pulled back into reality by the sound of metal colliding with wood.  
"Yes Raven?" She asked.  
"Ah miss Rena, you're awake." Rena heard Raven's voice say from the other side of the door. "It is almost noon. Also, it has gotten less cold than the last few days. You should be able to go ice skating today." Rena almost jumped out of bed as she heard that. She had anticipated being able to go ice skating for so long now that she completely forgot about the things that she was worrying about.

After a quick, late breakfast Rena went by Aisha and now the two of them found themselves heading to Lake Noahs. Rena was incredibly excited and couldn't stop smiling with anticipation.  
"You're looking forward to this aren't you?" Aisha laughed. Rena's grin only grew wider.

When the girls reached the frozen lake, they noticed quite a group of people already present. Rena watching in awe as she saw children and adults gliding over the ice. Some looked like graceful dancers elegantly swaying over the frozen water. Others looked like human bullets, moving as fast as they did over the icy surface of the lake. Suddenly Rena became a tiny bit nervous.  
"Hey Aisha?" She said as she tugged on Aisha's sleeve like a nervous child trying to get their parent's attention.  
"Hm?"  
"Is Ice skating difficult?" Aisha giggled as she looked at Rena's expression. Rena looked so lost and cute.  
"Don't worry." Aisha said reassuringly. "I'll teach you."

Aisha and Rena had gone to a more remote part of the lake after they'd rented a pair of skates for Rena to use from a woman named Helen that had set up a stall nearby the lake.  
"Okay then." Aisha said. "Got your skates on?"  
"Yup. Are you sure about this though?" Rena asked nervously.  
"Don't worry. I'll cast a magic barrier around you so that even if you fall you won't get hurt."  
"Fall?" Rena asked frightened.  
"Yes, fall." Aisha said. "Learning is a process of falling and getting back up after all."  
"I suppose that's true." Rena said, still somewhat scared to fall.

"That's it, you're doing great!" Aisha encouraged Rena as Rena managed to stand upright on her skates on the ice, maintaining her balance. "Alright, now you can try walking forward like normal. That'll get you used to moving on the ice. Once you're used to walking we can try doing the actual skating manoeuvres."  
"O-okay." Rena stammered as she nervously moved her right foot forward. Then her left. Then her right again. So, she managed to take a few steps.  
"I-I'm doing it!" Rena said overjoyed as she moved forward carefully.  
"Very good Rena. Think you're ready for the next step?" Aisha laughed.  
"Bring it on!" Rena said confidently.

About twenty minutes later Rena was skating across the ice as if she'd never done anything else in her life. She'd fallen once or twice but due to Aisha's barrier magic she hadn't gotten hurt. Both Rena and Aisha zoomed across the lake. Rena had never enjoyed herself this much before in her life. She felt like she was flying. Aisha was also having a great time as she was a bit more experienced and as such quite a bit faster than Rena. Rena watched Aisha fly by her with her eyes closed.

Suddenly Rena saw that Aisha was heading straight for a hole in the ice.  
"Watch out!" She shouted but it was too late. Aisha skated right into the hole and disappeared under water. Rena quickly skated over to the hole.  
"Aisha!" She shouted. The water was murky and dark but Rena managed to see Aisha. She dropped flat on her stomach and reached her hands into the icy cold water. Rena managed to just grab Aisha's hands. Pulling with all her strength she tried to pull Aisha out of the water. But she wasn't strong enough.  
"What're you doing there?" Rena heard a boy's voice ask. Rena looked up without letting go of Aisha to see a familiar-looking red-haired boy standing on the shore of the lake. He was clad in red armour.  
"Hey, aren't you that elf that came to live in the villa nearby Ruben?" The boy asked. "Rena right?"  
"No time!" Rena shouted. "Aisha fell into this hole and I can't pull her out!"  
"What!?" The young knight rushed over to Rena and also stuck his hands under water. He grabbed Aisha's hands as well and together Rena and the young knight managed to pull Aisha out of the water.

Aisha was shivering and was close to losing consciousness.  
"We need to get her someplace warm." The young knight said.  
"The villa isn't too far from here." Rena spoke.  
"Then let's go." The young knight said as he lifted Aisha onto his back. Together they made for the villa as fast as they could. Raven was there so when they arrived and had quickly explained the situation he took Aisha and brought her to the bathroom.  
"Miss Rena, you must get her out of those wet clothes and put her under the shower. Make sure the water isn't _too_ warm. It should be about body temperature." Raven instructed. Rena nodded and went into the bathroom with Aisha.

Sitting down on the floor beside the bathroom door, the young knight sighed in relief.  
"Could you keep an eye on them for a minute?" Raven asked. "I'll quickly swing by Aisha's place to pick up some dry clothes for her."  
"Won't her door be locked?" The young knight asked.  
"She entrusted miss Rena with a spare key a while ago." Raven explained.

A few minutes after Raven had left Rena stepped out of the bathroom.  
"Where's Raven?" She asked, looking around.  
"He went to Aisha's house to pick up some spare clothes." The young knight answered.  
"Ah, Elsword!" Rena said as if she just noticed his presence. "I haven't thanked you for your help yet."  
"You remember my name?" Elsword asked, genuinely surprised.  
"Of course I remember. We met the first time I visited Ruben. I can't believe I haven't seen you since then. How's Elesis?"  
"Strong and strict as ever." Elsword replied with a smirk. "But how is Aisha?" The knight asked, suddenly sounding very concerned which surprised Rena a little.  
"She's still feeling cold but she's fine now." Rena said reassuringly. "I was thinking it'd be a good idea to get her to the living room and turn on the fireplace." A light blush appeared on Elsword's face.

"You might want to help her into this then." They heard a deep male voice say. They turned and saw Raven standing at the end of the hallway holding a set of dry clothing for Aisha.

The fireplace was warming up the living room. Aisha sat in the middle of the three-seat sofa wraped in a blanket with Rena sitting to the left of her while Elsword sat to her right. Raven was in the kitchen preparing some hot cocoa for the four of them.

It was mostly silent except for the crispy sound of the logs burning in the fireplace. There was an awkward tension in the air and Rena didn't quite understand why. She realized she didn't even know whether or not Aisha and Elsword knew each other. Although she had the creeping suspicion they did. Rena felt the silence taking way too long as the atmosphere became more and more uncomfortable. As she was just about to speak up, Aisha spoke up just before her.  
"Thanks for saving me Els." She said quietly. Fidgeting with the blanket that was draped over her shoulders.  
"Just doing my job." Elsword replied without so much as glancing in Aisha's direction. He seemed focused on the burning fire in the fireplace.

Rena observed the two youngsters. It was obvious something was going on between the two of them. Rena decided it might be an idea to leave them alone for a bit.  
"I'll go help Raven in the kitchen real quick. I'll be right back." She said with a nervous smile and quickly left the living room. In the hallway Raven was just walking up to the living room holding a tray with four cups on them. White steam rose from every cup.  
"Ah miss-" Raven was cut short by Rena as she brought her finger up to her lips, making it obvious she wanted Raven to be quiet. The black-haired man nodded and kept quiet. Rena leaned against the living room door and pressed her long, pointy ear against it.

In the living room Aisha and Elsword were quiet. Their silence lasted several minutes until Elsword let out a deep sigh.  
"Are you okay?" He said, acting as if he did not really care. He didn't want Aisha to think he was worried but at the same time he wanted to know.  
"I'm fine. Though I don't remember asking you to save me." Aisha huffed.  
"Like I said, it's my job."  
"Yes, your job that you thought was more important than me. And now that same job brought us here. The universe sure has a cruel sense of humour." Aisha snorted humourlessly. It became silent again. After another few minutes the silence was once again broken by a sigh. This time it was Aisha.  
"So how have you been?" She asked.  
"I've been training hard under Elesis' instruction. I've gotten quite a bit stronger." Elsword smirked.  
"Of course, Elesis, your sister." Aisha said absent-mindedly. She didn't dislike Elesis. But she always thought Elsword was way too clingy to his older sister.  
"You know," Elsword stared. "I know why you broke up with me. It wasn't because my job was dangerous. Or because you thought I was way too focussed on it." Aisha looked in Elsword's direction.  
"It was because you thought Elesis was way more important to me than you right?" Aisha felt tears welling up. She nodded hesitantly. Elsword turned to Aisha and grabbed her hand.  
"I'm sorry." They both said at the same time causing a blush to appear on both of their faces.

Outside the living room Rena was now peeking through the keyhole and saw the situation in the living room. Raven had handed her a cup of cocoa and she took a sip. She stood up and Raven looked at her. Rena smiled, causing Raven to smile as well.  
"I suppose we'll leave them alone a little bit longer." Raven said. Rena nodded.  
"I suppose we will." She smiled.

That night Aisha stayed the night so Raven and Rena could keep an eye on her. Elsword stayed for dinner as Rena insisted he should but after dinner he left quickly. Aisha waved at him happily when he left. Now knowing that she was the most important girl in his life as opposed to his sister.

Raven had prepared the guest room for Aisha and both he and Rena had gone to their own rooms. Rena was about to crawl into bed when she heard a footstep behind her. Turning around she saw a person she didn't expect to see again so soon.  
"Eve…" Rena muttered, sounding a bit angry though she didn't mean to.  
"You always manage to make the people around you happy. That is your special ability." The silver-haired and golden-eyed woman said softly. Eve walked up to Rena and laid her hand on the elf's cheek. Her hand felt warm and soft. Rena closed her eyes and concentrated on Eve's warm hand.  
"Soon." Eve spoke. "Soon, you'll make me happy. And then I will make you happy as well."

Eve turned away from Rena and walked out of the bedroom through the bedroom door. Rena saw the door close and hesitated for a second before she walked up to the door, opened it and stepped into the hallway. As she stood in the hallway there was no sign of Eve. It was like she'd disappeared into thin air.

Rena sighed as she had gotten back into bed. "_Making people happy is my special ability huh? I didn't even do anything for Elsword and Aisha. They worked out their troubles themselves._" She didn't understand what Eve meant. But it made her happy nonetheless. She fell asleep with a smile on her face.

That night marked the first night strange, but familiar dreams would start to plague Rena.

* * *

_**This chapter was mostly written during early morning train rides from home to college and late evening train rides going home from a long day at college so if things don't make a whole lot of sense, there's the reason.**_

_**So yeah, Elsword x Aisha. I'm sorry if you don't like that pairing. Don't worry. There won't be much of a focus on it anyway. The main focus will be on Rena and whomever she ends up with.**_

_**Fun fact: This is the longest chapter in this story to date (2747 words of actual story). I believe it was also the longest in term of the amount of different events.**_

_**If you found this chapter to be enjoyable even the slightest bit then you make me very happy. If you have any ideas, suggestions, complaints, criticism or if you've found any mistakes, leave a review. I love reading your feedback.**_

_****__**Next chapter: Spring! Let us do away with the cold and heat things up! Huzzah!  
**_

_**May we meet again, fare thee well.**_


	12. The Annual Ruben Spring Festival

_**Welcome back you fine people,**_

_**It is with regret in my heart that I have to tell you that we're slowly but surely nearing the finale. Don't be sad though as we're not there yet. I guess I'm just giving you all a heads-up.**_

_**I have an idea for a new story already though. But for now I will focus on this story first and foremost before I start thinking about the next one **__**too**__** much.**_

_**Anyone up for some festivities?**_

* * *

**Chapter 12: The Annual Ruben Spring Festival**

* * *

"We have to do something!" Eve yelled as she looked away from the screen on which the Nasod King was visible, slaughtering a group of warriors.  
"But what can we do?" Rena asked, looking at Eve.  
"If only I could leave this room…" Eve muttered. Rena set up a thinking face.  
"You know there is a way." The elf reminded Eve.  
"No!" Eve yelled. "If you do that you'll… I don't want to lose you!"  
"It is only temporary. We can't let these good people die because of our selfishness." Rena stated and Eve looked like she understood Rena was right. The two women nodded at each other and Rena started to gather magical energy.

Rena's eyes shot open and she gasped for air.  
"The same nightmare." She muttered. Looking at her alarm-clock she saw it was about time to get out of bed. Rena sighed as she stood up. For the last couple of weeks she'd had the same dream almost every night. She and Eve would be standing in some sort of high-tech room watching a screen that showed a giant robot killing a group of warriors. However Rena couldn't focus on the faces of the warriors for some reason. Then She would share a short conversation with Eve and as she would start to gather magical energy to do who-knows-what she would wake up, sweating and gasping for air._ Just what was it with that conversation anyway? Eve losing Rena? Eve not being able to step outside that room for some reason._ It just made no sense to Rena.

Rena hadn't had a visit from Eve ever since Aisha's ice skating incident. It was also since then that she'd started having this recurring dream.

Rena looked out her bedroom window. Winter had come to an end and spring was making its appearance. All of the snow had already melted. As had the ice that was once covering Lake Noahs. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Rena made her way downstairs.

During breakfast Raven informed Rena that the annual Ruben Spring Festival was only a week away.  
"Ruben Spring Festival?" Rena was most definitely interested.  
"Yes, it takes place every year to celebrate the end of winter and to welcome the spring." Raven explained.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and Raven went to answer the door. It didn't take long for Raven to return being followed by the village chief, Hagus.  
"Hello!" Rena greeted, somewhat surprised at who her guest was.  
"Hello to you too." Hagus greeted back with a warm and friendly smile.  
"What brings you here?" Rena asked curiously.  
"I was wondering if you'd like to do something for the Ruben Spring Festival." Hagus asked. "You don't have to but maybe I figured you might like to."  
Rena's eyes widened as she felt it to be a great honour to help with the festivities.  
"I'd love to!" She answered enthusiastically. "But what can I do to help?" She wondered.  
"I thought about that." Hagus smiled. "You are quite the artist aren't you?" Rena blushed lightly. Hagus laughed.  
"No need to be modest. I've seen you work once and you really are good."  
"Thanks." Rena mumbled, still embarrassed by the chief's constant praise.  
"Anyway, how about you set up a stand where you make people's portraits? I'm sure it'd be a huge success!" Hagus suggested. Rena thought about it for a moment. She smiled and nodded.  
"That's a great idea! I'll do it!"

The next few days Rena spent practicing. Raven, Aisha and even Elsword, who would occasionally come along with Aisha, had their portraits taken multiple times. Rena wanted to be sure she could be at her absolute best.

It was a day before the beginning of the festival. Rena had gotten quite confident in her skill and was pumped. During dinner she had a huge radiant smile on her face.  
"Someone is looking forward to tomorrow." Raven laughed.  
"You bet!" Rena said as her smile seemed to grow even wider. "I've never really done anything like this." She admitted.  
"Going to a festival?" Raven asked.  
"No, no." Rena shook her head. "Making portraits of people I don't know."  
"Ah, I see." Raven said with a tone of understanding. "I'm sure you'll be fine." He assured her.  
"I sure hope so!" Rena laughed.

It was the day of the festival and Raven and Rena were setting up the portrait stand. Rena's painting easel was set up with a stool for Rena to sit on in front of it and a few meters behind it a stool for the customer to sit on while Rena would paint. Rena had also painted a sign that explained what was going on. A few of the portraits Rena had made prior to the festival while she was practicing had also been spread out to serve as examples. The festival took place in the centre of town and a lot of stalls and stands had already been set up. The festival would officially begin soon and Rena mentally prepared herself.

The first festival guests had shown up but so far no one came up to Rena's stand. Rena was patient though and didn't mind that much. More and more festival guests had started to gather and then Hagus came up to Rena.  
"Any luck yet?" He asked with a slightly worried look on his face.  
"Not yet." Rena sighed. "But I'm sure things will get going once I've had my first customer." She smiled.  
"Then how about I will be that first customer?" Hagus asked. "It'd be an honour."  
"Oh no, the honour would be all mine." Rena replied. Hagus took place on the stool opposite Rena and Rena started working.

It didn't take long for people to start crowding around Rena, watching her paint. Following her elegant brush-strokes and seeing the picture of Hagus's smiling face appear on the canvas. Rena was a quick worker but the quality of her paintings surely didn't suffer. It didn't take long before she could turn the canvas around and show Hagus the result of her handiwork.

Hagus was more than pleased with his portrait and gratefully paid Rena for her hard work. Out of the group of people that had gathered around to see Rena work a woman walked up to Rena and asked her if she could be next. Rena smiled and told the woman to take place on the stool. More and more people gathered and more and more people wanted their portrait taken. After Rena had finished about five portraits she started to become visibly tired. Afraid she would overwork herself, Raven insisted she take a break.  
"I suppose that's a good idea." Rena panted. "I also haven't taken a look around the festival myself."

Putting up a sign that she'd be back in about thirty minutes Rena and Raven walked over the festival grounds together. There were all sorts of stalls with people selling all sorts of things. Rena watched her eyes out as she saw people sell some of the weirdest things imaginable. Edible fishing rods was about the weirdest thing she'd ever seen. Who would buy that? What was it good for? She had no idea.

Then Rena came along a stall managed by a familiar face.  
"Hey Aisha!" She yelled as she saw the purple-haired girl.  
"Oh hey Rena, how're you enjoying the festival?" Aisha asked with a bright smile on her face.  
"It's great." Rena answered. "There's so much to see and do!"  
"How's business on your end?"  
"I've had a whole five customers so far." Rena told Aisha proudly. "I'm just taking a short break. By the way, what're you doing?"  
"Just helping the Red Knights with their food stall." Aisha smiled. Rena took a good look at the stall and saw it was a fast-food stall. She felt her stomach growl as she'd gotten quite hungry.  
"Are you hungry miss Rena?" Raven asked. Rena nodded with a look of embarrassment on her face.  
"I'll take two hamburgers." Raven ordered.  
"Two hamburgers coming right up!" Aisha smiled. "Hey Elsword, two hamburgers here."  
"They'll be there shortly!" The red-headed knight answered from behind the barbeque.

That night as Rena had just gone to bed she laughed because of how much she had enjoyed the festival. Her laugh subsided as she started hoping she wouldn't get the same nightmare again that had been plaguing her for the last few weeks.

Just what did that nightmare mean? If it even meant anything? Somehow though, Rena felt like it wasn't _just_ a nightmare. Especially since it all felt more like a memory than anything.

* * *

_**The setting for this chapter was inspired by Icebella's idea to have the crew celebrate a holiday. Now this isn't really a holiday but I think a festival is close enough.**_

_**This chapter was written while listening to 'Monotonous Purgatory' by matryoshka. Wonderful song and the music video is even better. I suggest you look it up.**_

_**Sorry for the short chapter. The last few were all quite long but I guess sometimes a chapter just has to be (relatively) short. Though I won't blame you if you think this one ended quite suddenly. I was a bit lacking in inspiration.**_

_**As always, any feedback you may want to give me, I highly appreciate. Don't be afraid to criticise. As long as it's constructive, it can only help me improve.**_

_**May we meet again, fare thee well.**_


	13. The Whole Truth

_**Welcome back you fine people,**_

_**First I would like to apologize for the previous chapter. It was rushed and sloppily written.**_

_**Next I would like to apologize for this chapter… being the last chapter. But I'll leave that for the notes at the end. For now, please enjoy the finale.**_

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**Chapter 13: The Whole Truth**

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The next days passed by peacefully. The only negative point being the nightmares that plagued Rena. The dream was the same as always, Rena and Eve in that strange room watching that same screen with the same thing happening on it. Every time the dream was sip vivid. Rena could swear it was all really happening every time and it frightened her to the point she dreaded going to sleep.

Rena still hadn't told anyone about her dream. She didn't even consider it.

Rena and Raven were eating breakfast. Rena was staring in front of her absent-mindedly while quietly eating her toast. Raven was observing her. He'd noticed something was up for a few days now but figured Rena would discuss it with him when she would feel the need to.

When Rena let out a deep sigh Raven couldn't take it anymore.  
"Is something wrong Rena?" He asked, placing emphasis on her name while deliberately not calling her 'miss Rena'. Rena looked at Raven.  
"Nothing wrong!" She was about to proclaim but she couldn't. For some reason she felt the irresistible urge to be completely honest.

She told Raven about the dream she'd had for weeks, if not months now. Not skipping over a single detail. Rena didn't call Eve by name as she knew Raven still only knew her as the woman from the painting Rena had made of her. Raven's eyes grew wider and wider as he listened.  
"It can't be." He muttered under his breath.  
"What?" Rena asked, not quite being able to hear what Raven said.  
"No, it's nothing." Raven said.  
"Come on!" Rena pleaded Raven to share his thoughts.  
"I cannot say anything unless I'm sure." Raven said. Rena sighed but decided to let it go. The constant nightmares had left her sleep-deprived and she was to tired to try and convince Raven to speak up.

Rena didn't feel like doing much of anything that day. She sat in the living room. Raven had left to do some grocery shopping and had said he wouldn't return until later that afternoon.

The dream Rena had been having kept replaying itself over and over in her head. It was almost hypnotizing how it kept going on and on. Before she knew it, Rena had fallen asleep on the living room couch.

Rena had the same dream again, but this time something was very different.

And Rena had started to gather magical energy once more. This time, things didn't end there as Eve looked at her and said:  
"No matter where you end up, I'll find you and bring you to our special place and watch over you until you remember." Rena smiled at Eve and nodded.  
"Thank you, my love."

Rena almost jumped up from the couch.  
"I remember!" She yelled out loud. Just at that time Raven came running into the living room.  
"Did I hear you scream miss Rena?" he asked as he barged in.  
"Oh Raven!" Rena yelled happily. "I remember!" She repeated as she ran up to Raven and hugged him. Raven was very surprised and stunned as he didn't understand what was happening.

"Follow me!" Rena said to Raven as she led him into the basement. The basement liked very much like a wine cellar. The only thing missing was a group of wine barrels. Rena walked up to the northern-most wall. Raven looked at her, wondering what she was doing. Rena closely observed the bricks and gave Raven a smile when she'd found what she was looking for.

Pressing one if the bricks, a hidden hatch in the floor opened. Raven gave Rena a puzzled look.  
"It's an emergency shelter." Rena said casually. Raven still didn't understand just what was going on but he decided to just keep quiet and see where this was all going.

Rena led raven down the short staircase and as the two stood before a sturdy-looking door Rena motioned for Raven to stay as quiet as possible. Silently opening the door, Rena stepped inside the room. Raven followed closely behind. The room was dark but Raven could clearly see that the room resembled a simple bedroom, not much more luxurious than his own.

Rena slowly crept up to the bed and Raven noticed there was someone occupying it. Rena crouched next to the bed and whispered something to the person in the bed. Since he was so far away, Raven couldn't hear what it was that Rena had whispered.

The person in the bed woke up and upon seeing Rena she shot up and they hugged each other tightly. Raven saw the person was a woman and he quickly realized it was the mysterious woman Rena had seen the very first day she'd come to live in the villa.

"I'm so glad!" The woman cried out. "You finally remember!"  
"I sure do Eve. I remember everything." Rena said in a soothing tone of voice. Eve and Rena almost seemed to forget Raven was even in the room until Raven couldn't take it anymore and spoke up.  
"Excuse me miss Rena but... What is going on here?"

Rena and Eve turned to the distressed man who had no idea what was going on. Rena turned to Eve.  
"I suppose we should explain." She said with an embarrassed blush.

_Rena and Eve. They were lovers. A double forbidden love. Not only was it a love between two different races but also between two women. They did their best to keep it a secret and were quite successful with that. There was only one place where they could be themselves and that was in Eve's villa in Ruben._

_Disaster struck when the virus of madness started to spread. Due to Eve's more well-protected systems the virus initially had no chance of infecting her. But as time passed the virus got stronger. Even high-ranking nasods started to get infected and it wouldn't take long for Eve to get infected as well. Rena found a temporary solution in the form of a barrier that was said to be able to protect against everything._

_There was a cost to this kind of magic. It could leave the caster severely weakened and even affect their mind. Rena till the risk and used the spell to make a completely safe room within the Altera Core. The reason she cast the barrier on that room rather than on Eve herself was because it was easier to cast a barrier over a certain space than on a person._

_It was then that the Velder Guard sent Raven's mercenary group to rescue Eve from the Core. Watching how the Nasod King slaughtered the people that were sent to save them Rena cast a personal barrier for Eve so she could fight the Nasod King. Rena herself was still weakened from the barrier she had cast on the room they had been in so she couldn't fight._

_The personal barrier for Eve had been cast but this put such a strain on Rena's mind and body that she collapsed. Protected by her barrier Eve went to save the final survivor of the mercenary group, Raven._

_After Eve had gotten Raven to safety she went back for Rena. But when she came back Rena was gone. She looked Hugh and low but when she find Rena she didn't dare approach her as it turned out Rena had lost her memories._

_Eve was initially overcome with despair. They'd stopped the virus of madness but at the cost of each other. Eve didn't give up on Rena though as she set everything in motion so she and her loved one could one day unite in their special home where they could always be themselves. The villa in Ruben. Just as she had promised._

Raven had listened to the story with wide open eyes. It was Eve and Rena that had saved his life. But there was one question on his mind.  
"What happens now?" Rena and Eve looked at each other.  
"I suppose you'll have another person living here to care for." Rena smiled. Raven smiled back.  
"Very well miss Rena, miss Eve. I shall prepare your room. I suppose you'd like to share one." He walked off and Rena and Eve watched him leave. They smiled at each other and kissed each other passionately as they were finally reunited.

**Epilogue:**

Rena, Eve and Raven continued to live in the villa for years to come. Rena and Eve had a lot of things to catch up on but they had all the time in the world.

Raven served happily under his mistresses. His arm still required regular maintenance but now it had become a lot easier for Eve to perform this maintenance as she no longer had to do it in secret.

Aisha and Elsword were also informed of Rena and Eve's past.

Eventually, after a few years Rena and Eve officially got married as they'd found a civil servant who was willing to marry them.

Shortly thereafter Aisha and Elsword got married as well.

They entered an era of peace and prosperity together with the rest of Ruben village.

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_**And with that, this story is over. Did the ending feel rushed? I won't blame you if you think so. I'm not too happy with it myself but I do sort of want to move on to something else.**_

_**My feelings are currently a mixture of sadness and happiness. On one hand I am happy that this story has ended. On the other hand I am sad that this story has ended. We shall move on though. We shall move on to a new story that will probably be less fluffy and more dramatic. Maybe.**_

_**But that's is for whenever that is. For now, I would like to receive your final thoughts on what we have here so please, now more than ever, leave a review telling me what you think. If you liked this story, even if just a tiny bit, then that'd make me very happy. Do you hate the way I ended it? Or did you hate it overall? Feel free to vent your frustrations, I won't hold it against you. I quite understand.**_

_**All in all, it's been fun and I hope to see you all again in my next story.**_

_**May we meet again, fare thee well.**_


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